Full 2024 NFL season predictions, records, playoffs, and Super Bowl winner
NFC South
1. Atlanta Falcons: 9-8
The NFC South might again be an iffy division, but look for the Atlanta Falcons to come away as the winners. They have the best overall roster, best QB, and might even have the best coaching staff as well. The big question here is whether Kirk Cousins can return to his old form after this major Achilles injury he suffered during the 2023 NFL Season, when he was still with the Vikings.
If he can regain his efficient self, the Falcons might be able to scrape together 10 wins, but their ceiling is limited with “Kirko Chainz.”
2. New Orleans Saints: 8-9
The New Orleans Saints are the most frustrating and uninspiring team in football at the moment. They had a top-10 scoring offense and defense in 2023, yet won just nine games and failed to make the postseason. Someone needs to tell GM Mickey Loomis that Derek Carr and Dennis Allen is a recipe for disaster. They’re just not good enough, period. Loomis should embrace a teardown this year, but my gut feeling is that he’ll try to ride this out one last time.
3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 6-11
The Buccaneers won nine games in 2023, and even won a postseason game. Baker Mayfield played the best football of his career, and it earned him a nice payday from the front office. However, their offensive coordinator in 2023, Dave Canales, is now the head coach of the Carolina Panthers, so if you said that Mayfield would regress a bit, you’d likely be correct. The Buccaneers can still win some games, but they won’t be quite as good as they were last year.
4. Carolina Panthers: 4-13
The Panthers won two games in 2023, and it was an ugly year all-around. It was a one-year disaster for Frank Reich and the coaching staff he assembled, and even GM Scott Fitterer was shown the door. Now with Canales as the head coach and Dan Morgan as the GM, the Panthers look to fix the mess that Reich and Fitterer left. The front office has been quite active this offseason, and on paper, this team does feel a lot more stout than they were last year, especially along the offensive line.
However, they again may struggle to win games in the 2024 NFL Season.