PFF picks winner way too early for NFC South

Picking a division winner in June is hard work. There are so many things that can happen between now and the end of the season in early January. There are heartbreaking season-ending injuries, breakout players and those who don’t live up to expectations. So when PFF’s Trevor Sikkema picked the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to be the NFC South division winner, it made more sense than most Atlanta Falcons fans think.

Based on 2023 win totals, each team in the NFC South presents one of the five easiest schedules for 2024. The Buccaneers have won the division in each of the last three seasons, and with the return of the Most of this team – and some new additions that should improve some areas – I’ll take them to repeat in a close contest with the Falcons.

Atlanta was close last year despite poor quarterback play, and the team added veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins. This is why they are currently the betting favorites. But last year, before his injury, Cousins ​​hit a career low in average depth of target and big-time throw percentage. He will also be 36 years old and coming off an Achilles injury.

Baker Mayfield had his ups and downs for the Bucs early on, but finished the year with a strong playoff performance. He’s working with a new offensive coordinator, but the Falcons are also working with an entirely new coaching staff.

Both of these teams have question marks at cornerback and the team that best mitigates that weakness could very well be the team that hosts a playoff game next January.

Based on his quarterback rating, Sikkema has made it known that he is tired of Cousins ​​and the decline that could result from his potentially lethal combination of age and recent injury history.

Not to mention the Buccaneers have taken this division three years in a row and have mostly kept the group together. Essentially, Sikkema is betting that the continuity of the defending champions will trump the new influx of talent the Falcons brought in this offseason.

Will it happen this way? That shouldn’t be the case, but the schedulers have made sure the Falcons pay if they struggle early, especially in the division. Atlanta has five of its six division games in Week 10 and eight of its conference games before its Week 12 bye.

If Cousins ​​and company struggle to come out with their new players on both sides of the ball and new offensive and defensive systems, problems could befall the Falcons in their quest for their first division title since 2016 .