Projecting the winner of the NFC South
By: Jake Rajala
The NFC South might just be the eighth wonder of the world. The NFC East progressed into a juggernaut division over the past three years, while the wicked NFC South regressed to a mediocre fight club in that same span. At the cusp of Week 9, the 4-4 Atlanta Falcons lead the division. Yes, you read that correctly.
Behind the Falcons squad that still likes to blow fourth-quarter leads, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers & New Orleans Saints sit at 3-5, and the Carolina Panthers possess a 2-6 record. With that said, there’s a question that surrounds the NFC South: who will win the NFC South?!
Well, I’m going to project the remaining schedule for each NFC South squad & conclude which team should win the division.
Atlanta Falcons:
Week 9: vs the Los Angeles Chargers = Loss
Week 10: at the Carolina Panthers = win
Week 11: vs the Chicago Bears = win
Week 12: at the Washington Commanders = win
Week 13: vs the Pittsburgh Steelers = win
Week 15: at the New Orleans Saints = loss
Week 16: at the Baltimore Ravens = loss
Week 17: vs the Arizona Cardinals = loss
Week 18: vs the Tampa Bay Buccaneers = loss
Final record: 8-9
New Orleans Saints:
Week 9: vs the Baltimore Ravens = win
Week 10: at the Pittsburgh Steelers = win
Week 11: vs the Los Angeles Rams = loss
Week 12: at the San Francisco 49ers = win
Week 13: at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers = win
Week 15: vs the Atlanta Falcons = win
Week 16: at the Cleveland Browns = loss
Week 17: at the Philadelphia Eagles = loss
Week 18: vs the Carolina Panthers = win
Final record: 9-8
Carolina Panthers:
Week 9: at the Cincinnati Bengals = loss
Week 10: vs the Atlanta Falcons = loss
Week 11: at the Baltimore Ravens = loss
Week 12: vs the Denver Broncos = win
Week 14: at the Seattle Seahawks = loss
Week 15: vs the Pittsburgh Steelers = win
Week 16: vs the Detroit Lions = loss
Week 17: at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers = loss
Week 18: at the New Orleans Saints = loss
Final record: 4-13
Tampa Bay Buccaneers:
Week 9: vs the Los Angeles Rams = loss
Week 10: vs the Seattle Seahawks = win
Week 11: at the Cleveland Browns = win
Week 12: vs the New Orleans Saints = loss
Week 13: at the San Francisco 49ers = win
Week 14: vs the Cincinnati Bengals = loss
Week 15: at the Arizona Cardinals = win
Week 16: vs the Carolina Panthers = win
Week 17: at the Atlanta Falcons = win
Final Record: 9-8
It’s clear that it will be a tight race for NFC South prominence between Falcons, Saints, and Buccaneers. Furthermore, the stakes will be extremely high in the NFC South battles. I anticipate the Saints and Buccaneers both finishing 9-8 (while the Falcons finish 8-9 and the Panthers finish 4-13), but I expect the Saints to edge out the Bucs in their second clash and have the tie-breaker over TB12 at the end of the 2022-2023 season — which will ultimately pen them as NFC South Champions.
