Logical result: Tampa Bay Buccaneers get the leap on this division and never relent. Let’s keep it 100: Panthers, Saints and Falcons don’t have cannons to match Tampa Bay’s gunpowder on either side of the ball. Brady broke Peyton Manning’s single-season record for passes, hit 40 to 45 touchdowns and embarked on another Super Bowl victory. Who needs a family when he can adopt the Vin Diesel model and achieve success with his colleagues “family? “
The Falcons looked like the NFL’s worst team and ended up in draft spot CJ Stroud or Bryce Young to go with all the towering breadth they had amassed.
Matt Rhule went bankrupt in Carolina and was fired mid-season, forcing the Panthers to eventually trade with Christian McCaffrey.
Unexpected replacement result: The turmoil in Tom Brady’s life begins to weigh heavily on his play, but the schedule is soon as the straw breaks the camel’s back. The Bucs started 0-1 when the Cowboys beat them on Sunday night. Trevon Diggs and Micah Parsons wrapped their pincers around Brady and Dak’s offensive attack overwhelmed Bowles’ defenses. In Week 2, Brady lost 0-5 to The Saints as Buc. The regular season Aaron Rodgers was as undefeated as Playoff Brady in Week 3. Then, Mahomes and the captains dropped them 0-4 before the Bucs hit the soft part of their schedule. Even as they go 1-3, Baker Mayfield realizes he’s at his best as he plays spoilers, channels with minor content, and sparks Panthers offense. Last season, Carolina lost to Philadelphia by an on-field goal, Minnesota in extra time, Washington with 6, New Orleans and Atlanta 8. With Baker at the helm and healthy Christian McCaffrey, they climbed to second in the field. tournament, then knocked Tampa Bay out of the playoffs in the New Year’s Day game.
Even so, the Panthers don’t win in this division. The real wild card in this deal is the New Orleans Saints no Sean Payton. New Orleans took a 5-2 lead when Jameis Winston tore his ACL net in a win over Tampa Bay. Alvin Kamara is likely to face suspension for a battery charge felony stemming from an incident in a Las Vegas casino during Pro Bowl weekend. The Saints have enough personnel to win the NFC South as long as Michael Thomas and Winston can move past the 17-game standings in a healthy way.
