2024 NFC South race: Can new-look Falcons dethrone Buccaneers or will either Saints or Panthers surprise?

Year in and year out, the NFC South appears to be more up for grabs than any other division even though the Tampa Bay Buccaneers took home the division crown in each of the last three years. 

The 2022 Tampa Bay squad, while gasping for air by the time Week 18 came around, took home the title with an 8-9 record, and the rest of the division — the Atlanta Falcons, New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers — all veered into 7-10 records. Last season’s division race was even more neck and neck since the Buccaneers and Saints ended the year with matching 9-8 records with the Falcons close behind at 7-10. The Buccaneers emerged atop the heap once again thanks to a higher win percentage in common games acting as the tiebreaker between the two. Carolina was the worst team in football after going 2-15 in 2023, thus becoming the first team since the 1979 49ers to trade their own first-round pick that ended up as the following year’s top pick. 

Entering 2024, it’s remotely possible any of the division’s four teams, including the Panthers after an active offseason, could challenge for the NFC South crown. Here is a path for each to take home the division title.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

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Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/2024-nfc-south-race-can-new-look-falcons-dethrone-buccaneers-or-will-either-saints-or-panthers-surprise/

Author : Garrett Podell

Publish date : 2024-07-04 12:31:46

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