There were many twists and turns this year in the NFC South, and the first-place spot went down to the last day of the division. If the Atlanta Falcons beat the Carolina Panthers and the New Orleans Saints beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Falcons would be in first place. If the Bucs beat the Saints or the Panthers beat the Falcons, the Bucs win first place. After both games went down to the wire, the Bucs narrowly beat the Saints, and the Panthers won in overtime against the Falcons. The Buccaneers have won the NFC South title for the fourth straight year and are now tied with the Saints for first place all-time with seven wins.
Now that the division has been decided, it is time to look at how each team’s season went and some outlook on next season.
Carolina Panthers
Regular Season record 5-12
The Panthers season can be broken down into two parts: Pre-win against the Saints and post-win against the Saints. Before the Panthers beat the Saints in week 9, they were in disarray. Bryce Young looked like he was heading to bust territory, the overall team looked like the worst in the NFL, and zero improvements were being made. The Panthers were 1-7 going into their game against the Saints with nothing to look forward to and an unbelievably bleak future. As many know, the Panthers had an upset win over the Saints, resulting in head coach Dennis Allen’s firing. This is where the season turned around. Yes, you can look at the record and see the Panthers only won 3 more games after week 9, but they were competitive in almost every single game. Bryce Young looked like the player the Panthers traded to select. It is not a joke to say that the Saints “fixed” Bryce Young. Now, the future is very bring for the Panthers. Going into next season, they have their head coach and their QB of the future. The offense could see some improvements on the line or in the receiver room, but the defense is going to be the offseason focus. The Panthers currently hold the 8th pick in the draft, and the defensive line is their likely choice.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Regular Season record 10-7
Before the season, the Buccaneers were the likely winners of the NFC South, and although that was the outcome, it did not look likely at times. Going into week 10 of the season, the Bucs were sitting at a 4-6 record and stuck in second place in the division. The Falcons were in first place with a 6-4 record, and they looked to be the favorite to win the division. This is where things changed, and it may have been because of the schedule. The Buccaneers had one of the easiest schedules in the league after week 10, and they took advantage of this. If it weren’t for a surprising loss to the Cowboys, the Bucs would have been undefeated in their remaining schedule. This finish to the season, combined with the Falcons collapse, allowed the Bucs to win the NFC South. Now, their goal is the Super Bowl.
Atlanta Falcons
Regular Season record 8-9
As I mentioned when talking about the Bucs, at one point, the Falcons looked like they would win the division. Kirk Cousins was playing pretty well, the defense was stepping up after a slow start to the season, and Younghoe Koo was on fire. After week 10, Kirk Cousin’s game declined heavily. This was an issue when the season started, but after some good performances, those worries disappeared. Cousins started to throw more turnovers and became the league leader in interceptions. It got to a point where the Falcons had to make a decision, and that’s when Kirk Cousins was officially benched. Michael Penix was now the starter and looked great, but he was still overcoming some rookie issues. The Falcons needed to win their last three games of the season to get the division title, but a loss to the Commanders made their chances of getting first place low. The Bucs win in week 18 put their hopes to rest. With missing the playoffs, the Falcons hold the 15th pick in the draft, and just like the Panthers, defensive line is the probable selection.
New Orleans Saints
Regular Season record 5-12
Last, and least, the Saints. Losing to the Bucs while allowing Mike Evans to get his 1,000-yard season was the worst way to end a bad season. If someone walked up to me after the first two games of the season and told me that the Saints would end in last place in the division, I would have thought that person was a pathological liar. New Orleans had a historic start to the season, and it looked like nothing could stop them… until Erik McCoy went down with a groin injury. This was when everything fell apart, and the Saints never recovered from it. The loss to the Panthers ended the Dennis Allen era, and although Darren Rizzi brought some new life into the team, the roster’s issues were just too much. Spencer Rattler looked up and down in his starts but has immense potential. The Saints will be going into the offseason needing upgrades in almost every single position on the roster, and with the extensive cap space issues, this will not be fixed after one season. The coaching search has also begun, and the Saints know they need to get this right. They also hold the 9th pick in the draft, and the Saints can really just go with the best available prospect.
- Buccaneers
- Falcons
- Panthers
- Saints
