The NFC South figures to be a winnable division. After seeing the Buccaneers take home the division crown for the last three years and the Saints the prior four, the Atlanta Falcons will try to come out on top once January rolls around.
They will need their new quarterback, Kirk Cousins, to sync up with his playmakers quickly and have the defense do just enough to take home wins.
Strength of schedule could play a big part in who wins the NFC South. Unsurprisingly, these four teams have some of the easiest schedules in the league (after all, they get to play each other). For the Dirty Birds, they hold the overall advantage in the easiest strength of schedule.
Let's look at their weeks 1 through 18 side-by-side to see how things could play out.
NFC South schedule comparison
Week | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | vs. Steelers | vs. Panthers | vs. Commanders | @ Saints |
2 | @ Eagles | @ Cowboys | @ Lions | vs. Chargers |
3 | vs. Chiefs | vs. Eagles | vs. Broncos | @ Raiders |
4 | vs. Saints | @ Falcons | vs. Eagles | vs. Bengals |
5 | vs. Buccaneers | @ Chiefs | @ Falcons | @ Bears |
6 | @ Panthers | vs. Buccaneers | @ Saints | vs. Falcons |
7 | vs. Seahawks | vs. Broncos | vs. Ravens | @ Commanders |
8 | @ Buccaneers | @ Chargers | vs. Falcons | @ Broncos |
9 | vs. Cowboys | @ Panthers | @ Chiefs | vs. Saints |
10 | @ Saints | vs. Falcons | vs. 49ers | vs. Giants (Germany) |
11 | @ Broncos | vs. Browns | BYE | BYE |
12 | BYE | BYE | @ Giants | vs. Chiefs |
13 | vs. Chargers | vs. Rams | @ Panthers | vs. Buccaneers |
14 | @ Vikings | @ Giants | vs. Raiders | @ Eagles |
15 | @ Raiders | vs. Commanders | @ Chargers | vs. Cowboys |
16 | vs. Giants | @ Packers | @ Cowboys | vs. Cardinals |
17 | @ Commanders | vs. Raiders | vs. Panthers | @ Buccaneers |
18 | vs. Panthers | @ Buccaneers | vs. Saints | @ Falcons |
As you can see, all four teams open up the season with winnable games but that changes in week two as they face what will likely be the NFC South's most difficult week. Eagles, Cowboys, Lions, and Chargers are quite the foursome for this division. It wouldn't be shocking to see each team with an "L" next to their name in week two.
Weeks six and 18 will be all-divisional matchup weeks. That is usual for the last week of the season since the NFL hopes a division or two will come down to one final matchup. They also put game times as "TBA" to flex any division-deciding games to a primetime slot.
Each of the four teams will either go on the road to play the Eagles or Chiefs (Falcons and Panthers to Philadelphia, Buccaneers and Saints to Kansas City). They are equally-difficult environments so no team holds a distinct advantage.
However, overall, the Falcons hold a slight advantage. They don't play teams like the Rams, Browns, Lions, Ravens, and Bears. Instead, they will try to take advantage of the Steelers, Seahawks, and Vikings to take home the crown.