RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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On a recent episode of "Football 301," Yahoo Sports' Nate Tice and Josh Norris predicted the fortunes of the NFC South with standout players, X factors and, of course, win totals.
Both predicted that the Buccaneers and Saints would tie at 9-8 atop the division.
"I'm going to say narrowly the Tampa Bay Buccaneers win the South," Norris said. "That final Week 18 matchup against the New Orleans Saints, they [enter] one game back. They win it [and] some sort of tiebreaker aligns in their favor."
Below, we break down their projected win total picks for each squad:
Team
Tice's win total
Norris' win total
O/U
Buccaneers
9-8
9-8
8.5
Saints
9-8
9-8
7.5
Panthers
8-9
7-10
7.5
Falcons
4-13
4-13
6.5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Win total projections:
Josh Norris: 9-8
Nate Tice: 9-8
Norris and Tice are unified in their optimism for the Bucs. A healthy, potentially top-five offensive line and continuity at quarterback with Baker Mayfield are the driving factors here, along with slight defensive improvements. However, Vita Vea's trade request has some of that faith tamped down.
"He literally is the keystone player for the defense," Tice said "He's literally the player in the middle that everything else is pinched and holding up the whole aqueduct of that defense."
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New Orleans Saints
Win total projections:
Josh Norris: 9-8
Nate Tice: 9-8
Norris and Tice note the enormous upside with Kellen Moore's offensive play-calling prowess and a talented, if not injury-prone, roster. Both stress, however, that the ceiling is reachable only if offensive line and skill position players stay healthy — making the Saints a true boom-or-bust candidate.
"Kellen Moore also does a scheme, or at least the branches of a scheme that you want in a 2026 offense," Tice said. "[It] has a little bit of everything in the run game, has a diverse kind of third-down and red zone packages. They can go under center. They do play action.
"And they have enough weapons that can create explosive plays."
Carolina Panthers
Win total projections:
Josh Norris: 7-10
Nate Tice: 8-9
Norris expects a bit of regression as the Panthers, who won the division at 8-9 in a three-way tie, deal with offensive line injuries and a run game that needs a jolt from breakout candidate Jonathon Brooks.
"He has this almost one-speed running style and he doesn't look that fast," Norris said. "But then you see him getting to the safeties and running straight past them.
"I didn't expect a guy of that size to run that fluidly. And he breaks tackles and creates yards on his own."
Atlanta Falcons
Win total projections:
Josh Norris: 4-13
Nate Tice : 4-13
In Atlanta, Norris and Tice see a team quietly realigning for a leap in 2027, rather than 2026. The Falcons have questions at quarterback, a depleted defense and generally lack a win-now infrastructure. Bright spots like Bijan Robinson, Drake London and Jessie Bates III will flash, but Atlanta is at least a year away from contention.
"There's a lot under the hood with this team that's just not there yet," Tice said. "The engine is not there, even if they have the shiny chrome rims right now."
For more NFL insight, tune into " Football 301 on Apple , Spotify or YouTube .
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