NFL Power Rankings: Division Rankings After Week 16
By Brad Rowland
8) NFC South
When you have a contest upcoming in Week 17 that doubles as a “division championship game” between two teams with six wins, your division is a mortal lock for the basement. The Atlanta Falcons and Carolina Panthers will square off for the fourth seed in the NFC playoffs this Sunday, but the 6-9 Falcons and 6-8-1 Panthers aren’t exactly fantastic standard bearers for the group.
Still, both the New Orleans Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers are even more disappointing. Sean Payton’s team simply cannot emerge with a win at home, which is doubly troubling when the SuperDome used to represent a significant homefield advantage, and in the case of the Bucs, they are closer to the number one pick in the upcoming NFL Draft to any relevance in the playoff race.
The NFC South is historically bad, and it is fitting that they will have a seven-win champion. There is probably an argument to be made that the Falcons and Panthers are “better than you think” based on their recent level of play, but it really doesn’t matter when lining up this quartet against the rest of the NFL.
Next: AFC South