Isn’t it crazy that the NFL season is almost here? After what has felt like an eternity, the NFL is returning to action in less than two months. Teams across the league are starting training camp, full of hope, believing the 2024 season will yield positive results.
We’ve been taking an in-depth look at divisions across the NFL, and we’ve finally made it to the NFC South. This division has been dominated by the New Orleans Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers over the past decade, as these two teams have won seven combined titles during that time.
Will the Atlanta Falcons or Carolina Panthers make a splash this year? Let’s take a deep dive into each team and find out!
The 2023 season didn’t exactly go as planned for the Carolina Panthers. After drafting Bryce Young with the No. 1 overall pick in last year’s draft, there was a general sense of excitement around this team. A new quarterback can do that for an organization, but unfortunately for Young, he couldn’t capitalize on this momentum. The Panthers ended the season with a measly 2-15 record, the worst in the league.
This might seem like rock bottom to some fans, as a two-win season is tough to watch. However, the Panthers haven’t added a lot of players in the offseason to give us confidence in them moving forward.
Sure, they added Diontae Johnson as another receiving weapon for Young, also drafting Xavier Legette and Jonathan Brooks, but those three players might not be enough to take this team to the next level.
Paired with the fact that their defense also hasn’t gotten much better, we’re confidently taking the under on the Panthers’ win total on the year, which Caesars has at 5.5 with -115 odds. As we’ll discuss with the other three teams in the division, the Panthers could struggle against them, making their road to winning six games that much harder.
The New Orleans Saints are a tough team to grade heading into the 2024 campaign. They did win nine games last year, tying with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the best record in the division.
However, the Saints had a lot of things go right for them down the stretch in 2023, making us doubtful that they can repeat that performance. Other than the Panthers, the division has gotten a lot better throughout the offseason, making the Saints’ chances that much more difficult.
They do have a decent offensive core with Derek Carr, Chris Olave, and Alvin Kamara, but even those players aren’t a guarantee. Carr was injured last year, and with Kamara’s off-field issues in mind, he might not play the entire season.
With all of these aspects in mind, we’re taking the under on the Saints’ win total this year, especially seeing that Caesars has the under boosted at +100.
As previously mentioned, the Buccaneers won the division with nine total victories last season. Baker Mayfield solidified a spot as this team’s starting quarterback to some people’s surprise, and the team performed much better than expected.
They made it all the way to the Divisional Round of the playoffs, losing a hard-fought battle to the Detroit Lions, another team that came out of the woodwork. The Buccaneers came away from the 2023 season with a lot of wins, but they are also confident in what they can do moving forward.
Having a team full of players with postseason experience and success can go a long way, and unless the Buccaneers suffer from a lot of injuries down the stretch, look for them to put a competitive season together.
We aren’t going to speculate on if they’ll win the division or not, but as it pertains to their team total for the year, we’re hammering the over on FanDuel at 7.5 wins.
The 2023 season was interesting for the Atlanta Falcons. They didn’t have a consistent quarterback throughout the year, which typically spells disaster for an NFL team.
Despite their QB woes, the Falcons did still win seven games last season, which is no small feat given their circumstances. Now that the Falcons have signed a marquee quarterback in Kirk Cousins and drafted a high-upside prospect in Michael Penix Jr., they shouldn’t have that problem.
Fans and analysts alike are excited to see what this team can do in 2024, especially on offense. Sportsbooks tend to agree, setting their win total at 9.5. This might seem like a high mark for a team that won seven games last year, but for the reasons listed above, we like the Falcons’ chances of winning at least 10 games this year.
Their offense has gotten that much better with a better quarterback situation, and with the amount of talented skill-position players on the roster, we’re all-in on the Falcons.