NFC South: Saints and Buccaneers is Most Intriguing Division Race in NFL

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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers practically won the off-season. The Buccaneers signed the best quarterback off all-time Tom Brady. He still threw for 4,057 passing yards and 24 touchdowns. Then they traded for Tight End Robert Gronkowski who came out of retirement. The energy is through the roof at Raymond James Stadium. Do the New Orleans Saints have any chance to win a division race against the offensive juggernaut? Welcome to the NFC South.

The Buccaneers have Brady, Gronkowski, Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Breshad Perriman, Cameron Brate, O.J. Howard, Ronald Jones, and Peyton Barber. There aren’t many defenses that can stop this offense or even slow this offense down. Brady and company will be too much to handle right from the beginning. Some doubters will point to Brady steadily regressing in recent years but Tampa Bay is too loaded on offense for him to do so little. Brady has a chance to pass for over 4,750 yards this season with all of this offensive firepower.

On the other side of the debate, the New Orleans Saints are the more established team. Although the Saints don’t have the boatload of offensive weapons the Buccaneers have, they have players that have been around each other for a longer period of time. Team chemistry can be the difference over such a loaded team that’s in the same division.

The Saints know what they have with their offensive and defensive schemes. They still have outstanding offensive weapons with Drew Brees, Michael Thomas, Emmanuel Sanders, and Alvin Kamara. They also signed free-agent quarterback Jameis Winston. The Saints defense ranked 13th in total defense while the Tampa Bay Buccaneers ranked 29th in total defense in 2019. New Orleans clearly has more balance than Tampa Bay. The Saints defense has several playmakers in Marshon Lattimore, Sheldon Rankins, D.J. Swearinger, and rookie linebacker Zach Baun.

Prediction of the NFC South Standings

New Orleans Saints 13-3

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 11-5

Atlanta Falcons 6-10

Carolina Panthers 5-11