The Saints can win the NFC South next season

By: Jake Rajala

The New Orleans Saints have won the NFC South in four of the past five seasons. They have also won the division with Tom Brady as a divisional foe (2020). The Saints were faced with the El Capitan mountain last season, but they impressively finished with a 9-8 record. I believe the non-Sean Payton-led Saints shouldn’t quietly be NFC South favorites in 2022.

The Saints were 5-2 last season with a healthy Jameis Winston. They were in first place in the NFC South and they also edged out the “alpha” Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 8 (Winston’s last game in 2021). Their two losses with Winston came against the Panthers coach-less fiasco, where the Panthers were utterly blitz-happy, and against the underdog New York Giants squad in overtime.

In 2022, the NFC South has a different and potentially more fragile outlook. The Atlanta Falcons lost Matt Ryan, the Panthers will likely start Sam Darnold at QB, and the Buccaneers will lose a few veterans this offseason. The Bucs will still have TB12, but they will likely not have Ndamukong Suh (6 sacks last season), Jason Pierre-Paul, AB, and Gronk may retire this offseason. According to Sports Illustrated, Gronkowski is really undecided on the 2022 season.

It’s clear that the Saints haven’t only beaten Brady in each of the last four playoff contests, but the Bucs could have less juice to edge out the Saints in 2022. I also don’t foresee the Saints going 2-2 against the Falcons and Panthers for the second straight season. The Panthers also had a very fluky victory against the Saints in their first contest last season, while the Falcons had an incredible comeback victory against NO led by Matt Ryan in the first half of 2021. The Saints should be able to beat the Panthers with coaches next season and I like their chances to edge out the Falcons without Ryan.

The Saints should be a tougher team beat outside of the division next season. The return of Michael Thomas can’t be underestimated. Up until Week 8, Jameis Winston was efficient and the Saints defense was elite in numerous categories, but the 32nd ranked passing attack will largely benefit from MT. The Saints will also have an underrated improvement in special teams, as Will Lutz will return healthy. Dennis Allen’s squad doesn’t have to play musical chairs at the kicker position with free agents.

The Saints would have most likely beaten the Tennessee Titans with Trevor Sieman and an average kicking performance. Yet, Brian Johnson (Lutz’s replacement) missed two extra points against the Titans and the Saints lost 23-21 against the Titans. The Saints were forced to attempt a game-tying two-point conversion against the Titans with 1:16 left in the game, but they were unsuccessful in their efforts.

I fully expect the Saints to surprise the NFL world in the Brees/Payton-less era. Thomas may often be unpopular on Twitter, but he can certainly be an elite wideout with the speed-demon Deonte Harris for Winston. I expect the Saints to grow from their early 2021 version and potentially be a Top 3 NFC seed next season. The Saints finished 12-4 in 2020, while the Brady bunch finished 11-5 in the same season. I expect the 2020 outcome from the two NFC South heavyweights to be similar next season.