Who will “Win” the NFC South?
Last year, the 2025 Carolina Panthers made history as the seventh team to ever make the playoffs with a losing record throughout the regular season. As of now, the Panthers sit atop their division with a 3-3 record, while every other team sits below .500. The season so far has been a wild ride for each of these teams, with everyone experiencing heartbreaking losses and trajectory-changing wins.
Carolina Panthers
With a 3-3 record, the Panthers hope to repeat their recent success and secure another playoff berth, with hopes to make it past the wild card round. A week one performance where their defense gave up 59 points wasn’t a great sign for the future, but the offense still put up 37 points of their own, with Bryce Young passing for 361 yards. Young’s performance doesn’t stem from a one-game wonder; there has only been one game this whole year where he passed for less than 250 yards. Year three under ex-Buccaneers offensive coordinator Dave Canales has clearly had a crucial impact on Bryce Young’s development, and this duo is likely to continue leading this team to many big wins. The team collapsed in a Week 7 loss to the Buccaneers. Speaking of which…
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
At 2-5, the Buccaneers are honestly doing a bit better than they could be given their situation. With quarterback Baker Mayfield injured following a 0-3 start, this team was unlikely to win a single game throughout the first third of the season. However, the rookie UDFA Jalon Daniels stepped into Baker’s role quite well, keeping his team competitive in every game he played. After a win over the Cowboys, fans eagerly awaited Baker’s return for the divisional matchup against the Panthers. In it, Mayfield had a noticeably terrible performance, only managing 64 yards passing with one touchdown. The craziest part, however, is that the Buccaneers won this game 43-13. The Buccaneers’ defense had two interceptions, two fumbles recovered, a defensive touchdown, five sacks, and a 2-point return. Hopefully Baker Mayfield will be back to his old self soon, because this team absolutely has the power to come back and win their division. After going from 6-1 to 8-9 last year, I’m sure many Buccaneers fans would love to see that narrative flipped this time around.
Atlanta Falcons
After a 0-2 start with Cooper Rush failing to lead his team to much success, quarterback Michael Penix Jr. returned from injury to lead his team to a confusing 3-4 record. While their win count on its own might not be that shocking, the way that these Falcons games have played out is mind-boggling. Reunited with their starting quarterback, the Falcons looked strong with a dominant 35-14 win over the Green Bay Packers. After destroying the Saints 45-24, the team faced off against Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens. The game went into overtime, but Penix suffered a rib injury and had to step off the field. Tua Tagovailoa marched onto the field and, on his third pass attempt, threw the game-losing interception. Many Ravens players were seen celebrating the second they noticed Tua was playing, with Kyle Hamilton predicting that he would end up with the game-winning interception. Last week, the Falcons took down the undefeated 49ers. The Falcons look strong with Michael Penix back under center, but his injury status will make or break his team’s season.
New Orleans Saints
Just like the 2024 season, the Saints performed incredibly well in their first two games before coming back down to earth. After an overtime thriller with the Lions where Tyler Shough threw for over 400 yards, followed by a win over the Ravens, the Saints sit at a record of 2-5 going into their bye week. The team is tied with Tampa Bay for the 17th most points scored per game, but they rank 28th in the league in points allowed per game. While some have questioned Kellen Moore as a head coach, he absolutely has the power to improve this offense and lead this team to a division title. However, barring injuries from other teams, the Saints are likely the NFC South team with the worst odds of making the playoffs.
The Kenneth Walker III “Revenge” Game
Last week, the Chiefs went to Lumen Field for a matchup against the Seahawks. This Sunday night thriller was highly anticipated, as many fans viewed this matchup as a revenge game for Kenneth Walker. Last season, Walker won Super Bowl MVP in the Seahawks’ monstrous win. He spent most of the regular season sharing snaps with Zach Charbonnet, but Walker shined in the postseason after Charbonnet tore his ACL. The Seahawks let Walker walk in free agency, and he signed with the Chiefs. The Chiefs’ biggest issue throughout the Patrick Mahomes era has been a lack of a strong run game, and this signing was expected to make the Chiefs true contenders once again.
Going into the game, Kenneth Walker was averaging 133 rushing yards per game, and the Chiefs were undefeated. Meanwhile, the Seahawks were 3-3 and had been suffering from various injuries to their starting running backs. However, the Seahawks won this game 20-3, and Kenneth Walker only managed 36 rushing yards against his old team. A major reason that the Seahawks didn’t re-sign Walker was that they had to spend so much money to re-sign star wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who had 150 receiving yards, nine receptions, and a touchdown against the Chiefs. The Seahawks’ defense is undoubtedly one of the strongest in the league, which can be attributed to their head coach Mike Macdonald’s ridiculous defensive mind. What the league witnessed on Sunday night could be a potential Super Bowl preview; we’ll just have to wait and see.
Why are the Jaguars always in London?
In back-to-back weeks, the Jaguars beat the Eagles and then lost to the Texans; both games were played in London. The team has played a total of 16 games in London, far and away the most in league history. The Bills have played the second-most games in London, but they’ve still only played 8. This raises a clear question: why are the Jaguars always playing in London?
A simple answer is the team’s small market size. With one of the smallest fan bases in the league, the NFL schedules a lot of their games internationally to try and expand their presence across Europe. The team’s owner, Shad Khan, has also pushed for international games more than almost any other owner. He signed a multi-year commitment that made the Jacksonville Jaguars the unofficial “home team” of Europe, to try and aid the NFL’s international presence. Every game the team plays in London generates around $40 million, further reasoning for the team to play abroad. Khan and his team are very focused on expanding the influence and popularity of the NFL throughout other countries. By having his team play in London so much, he gets first dibs at this potential market.
What Coaches are in the Hot Seat?
Now that we’re over a third of the way through the NFL season, head coaches may start getting fired at any point. Most teams will elect to wait until “Black Monday” before making any firings, but at any point in time a random ESPN notification can pop up on your phone, announcing the first firing of the year. Whose seats are the hottest? Let’s find out.
Nick Sirianni
While it’s true that the Eagles have been dealing with constant injuries, Nick Sirianni hasn’t done much to help his team. Even before injuries started becoming a huge issue, this team narrowly beat the Titans, only to then lose to the Case Keenum-led Bears and let up a huge comeback win to the Rams. This core roster won a Super Bowl just two seasons ago, and now they’re arguably the worst team in their division. It’s almost certain that Nick Sirianni won’t be on this team going into next season.
Dan Quinn
Where do I even start with Dan Quinn? After leading the Commanders on a Cinderella run that resulted in an NFC Championship appearance, the Commanders had a disastrous season last year. With Jayden Daniels out for most of the year, the Commanders ended the season at 5-12. Now, the Commanders sit at 1-4-1. This would be enough to warrant a discussion about Quinn’s abilities, but the nail in the coffin came in a matchup against the Giants. In overtime, Dan Quinn forgot to call a timeout, leading to the clock expiring and the game ending in a tie. Quinn was also seen against the 49ers questioning why his offense was leaving the field after an incomplete pass, not realizing that the team had just failed to convert on fourth down. Head coaches rarely survive blatant incompetence like what we’ve seen from Quinn over the past few weeks.
Jim Harbaugh
The Chargers were a team with Super Bowl aspirations going into this season. The team currently sits at 0-7, making them the only winless team in the league. Many like to point fingers at offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel, but Harbaugh was the one in charge of said hire. Justin Herbert is playing like one of the worst starting quarterbacks in the league, the defense is a shell of its former self, and this team as a whole feels dead inside. While it’s true that the Chargers haven’t won a playoff game with Justin Herbert, at least they were making the playoffs consistently. Now, even if the Chargers win out, it’s possible for them to miss the playoffs altogether.
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