2025 NFL Season Preview: NFC South

Is Baker actually good? Is Bryce really back? Will Penix rise to the occasion? Who is the Saints' quarterback again? All this... and more!

Carolina Panthers

Highlight From Last Season

Andy Dalton's car crash that allowed Bryce Young to return to the lineup after being benched. It's rare that a vehicular mishap by one of your starters turns out to be a net positive, but it was really looking like the top pick in the 2023 draft was a complete bust. That really would have sucked for Carolina fans. Instead, Young came back in Week 8 and looked much more confident. They even almost beat the Eagles in Week 14.

Lowlight From Last Season

See above.

Biggest Offseason Storyline

You can’t talk Panthers in 2025 without circling back to Bryce Young. For a season and a half it looked like Carolina had whiffed, watching C.J. Stroud turn into an MVP candidate while Bryce struggled to see over his own linemen. David Tepper, meanwhile, was so fed up he was literally screaming at fans in the stands like an angry Little League dad. But Bryce’s late-season turnaround bought Tepper just enough peace of mind (and throat lozenges) to keep him from blowing up the whole operation again. Now Charlotte enters Week 1 with something that almost resembles optimism.

QB Situation

Bryce Young, Andy Dalton, Jack Plummer, Bryce Perkins

Whoa, there's two guys named Bryce in the Panther's QB room?

2025 Prediction | Over 6.5 wins

I’m buying it. I think Bryce (Young, not Perkins) keeps the arrow pointing up. He’ll have to sling it, because this defense still looks like Swiss cheese left out in the Carolina sun. Luckily, he’s got some weapons: smooth-talking Xavier Legette (if he can hang onto the ball), reliable-but-creaky Adam Thielen, and shiny new first-rounder Tetairoa McMillan. In the backfield, it’s Chuba Hubbard and Rico Dowdle—two guys you’ve definitely panic-added on waivers before swearing you’d never do it again.

Atlanta Falcons

Highlight From Last Season

In what now feels like the last gasp of his career highlight reel, Kirk Cousins ran a flawless two-minute drill to knock off the almighty Eagles on Monday Night Football. For about 48 hours, Philly fans were demanding Nick Sirianni’s head and national pundits were pretending Cousins was “back.” By Week 16, those takes aged like milk — the Eagles were 11-2 and Cousins was glued to the bench. Still, for one glorious Monday in September, every Philly-hater in America got to yell “You like that?!” at their TV one last time.

Lowlight From Last Season

Kirk Cousins unraveled after Thanksgiving, tossing 8 interceptions during a brutal four-game skid that ended with a 21-point drubbing at the hands of his old team in Minnesota. The following week, Atlanta snapped the streak by beating the Raiders — but Cousins played so poorly he became the rare quarterback to get benched for the rest of the year after a win. That collapse torpedoed what had been a promising start and shoved the Falcons out of the playoff picture.

Offseason Storyline

In a rare moment of national unity, every fantasy owner in America has agreed never again to draft Kyle "Fucking" Pitts. To commemorate becoming the only thing the country can actually agree on, Pitts was flown to Oslo and handed the Nobel Peace Prize — before immediately returning to Atlanta for a preseason game where he played every offensive snap, saw one target, and finished with exactly zero catches.

QB Situation

Michael Penix Jr., Kirk Cousins, Easton Stick, Ben DiNucci

Honestly surprised it took so long for this to happen.

2025 Prediction | Over 7.5 wins

I’m all in on Atlanta, because this whole season is about whether Michael Penix can really perform when the lights are on. And let me tell you — this Penix is built to go deep. The release is quick, the balls come out tight, and when he gets hot, defenses are gonna feel it. Sure, there’s always the risk of a premature collapse, but if the Falcons can keep this Penix upright, fans are in for one hell of a ride.

New Orleans Saints

Highlight From Last Season

The Saints exploded out of the gate, racking up 91 points in their first two games. They demolished division rival Carolina 47-10 at home, then marched into Dallas and ended the Cowboys’ 16-game home winning streak with a 44-19 beatdown. Alvin Kamara found the end zone four times in that Week 2 win. Unfortunately for Saints fans, it wasn’t a sign of sustained offensive dominance.

Lowlight From Last Season

The early fireworks took a hard left turn and exploded all over Bourbon Street, as the Saints followed their 2–0 start with seven straight ugly losses by a combined 84 points. Derek Carr missed time during that stretch, but even his return in Week 9 couldn’t spark a turnaround — especially after dropping a brutal loss to the lowly Panthers. That defeat was the final straw, and head coach Dennis Allen was sent packing before he could even finish his post-game gumbo.

Offseason Storyline

Derek Carr retired after I burned him so hard on Threads he could never show his face in an NFL stadium again. Rather than get another quarterback, the Saints recruited three random dudes off the street and rolled with it.

QB Situation

Spencer Rattler, Tyler Shough, Jake Haener

My Uncle Jack has never heard of any of these guys. He thought Spencer Rattler was Steve Irwin’s kid carrying on The Crocodile Hunter legacy, Tyler Shough was Trump’s pick for Surgeon General, and Jake Haener was the "punk kid" who installed his gutters last summer. Honestly, the only name that is relevant to the Saints quarterback position is top college prospect Arch Manning. This team has No. 1 draft pick written all over it.

2025 Prediction | Under 5.5 wins

I couldn't find a single positive case for New Orleans in all of my pre-season toilet scrolling. I typed in "Saints 2025 Season" and saw multiple posts from season ticket holders trying to unload their seats at below cost. Which kind of made me want to pick the over just to be a contrarian. But yikes, man. There's not much to like here. Getting to six wins feels like a tall order unless one of these mystery men under center turns is actually one of Tom Brady's abandoned love-children.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Highlight From Last Season

Somehow, Baker Mayfield turned into a touchdown machine, throwing 41 of them — tied with Lamar Jackson and behind only Joe Burrow. Read that again: Baker freaking Mayfield, the guy who was running scout-team snaps in Carolina two years ago, was suddenly hanging in the same stat column as MVPs. It was the kind of season that made you wonder if Tampa had stumbled onto a franchise QB… or if we were all just living in Flo from Progressive's weird simulation.

Lowlight From Last Season

The gut-punch of the regular season came in Week 9 on Monday Night Football, when Baker rallied the Bucs to force overtime against the Chiefs—only to lose without ever touching the ball again. But nothing topped the agony of their Wild Card collapse against the Commanders. After sneaking ahead 23–20 on a field goal that clanged off the upright and somehow dropped through, Tampa immediately went into self-destruct mode. Baker coughed up a fumble on a jet sweep, his rookie center spiked a snap into his own calf in scoring range, and Todd Bowles managed the clock with all the precision of my Cousin Colin trying to parallel park after his morning session with the water pipe. With the defense collapsing like a Florida Man's above-ground pool during hurricane season, the Bucs turned a winnable playoff game into a gigantic turd.

Offseason Storyline

Liam Coen “committed” to the Bucs on a record-setting coordinator deal, then ghosted them like a bad Tinder date — only to pop back up in Jacksonville the second Trent Baalke hit the unemployment line. That left Tampa holding the bag and wondering if Baker Mayfield can replicate last year’s magic without the play-caller who resuscitated his career. Meanwhile, Chris Godwin’s injury status hangs over the offense, meaning first-round pick Emeka Egbuka (sweet name) may be thrown straight into the fire with some very large cleats to fill.

QB Situation

Baker Mayfield, Kyle Trask, Teddy Bridgewater, Michael Pratt

2025 Prediction | Under 9.5 wins

Tampa probably still backs into the NFC South title, but the way casual fans are hammering their over you’d think it was free money. History says otherwise. We’ve never seen Baker Mayfield string two good years together, and now he has to do it without Liam Coen pulling the strings after his Jacksonville vanishing act. Add in a secondary that ranks among the league’s worst, and suddenly guys like Bryce Young and Michael Penix look capable of swiping a couple divisional wins.

NFC Playoff Picture

That concludes the first half of my longwinded previews, wrapping up the NFC. Here's how I think the playoff picture will shape up.

1. Green Bay Packers (NFC North Champion, first round bye)

2. San Francisco 49ers (NFC West Champion)

3. Philadelphia Eagles (NFC East Champion)

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (NFC South Champion)

5. Los Angeles Rams (first Wild Card)

6. Washington Commanders (second Wild Card)

7. Detroit Lions (third Wild Card)

More NFL Previews:

NFC East NFC West NFC North