The toughest division in the NFL to make out may be the NFC South.
We can probably put a fork in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who are 0-3 and dealing with a dysfunctional offense and injured quarterback. The other three teams all have a very realistic chance to win the division, though— as you have the reigning champs in the Carolina Panthers
, a talented roster with the Atlanta Falcons and an ascending bunch in the New Orleans Saints.According to a new projection from John Breech at CBS Sports, the Panthers will win the division again with a 7-10 record, but that's as far as they'll go. He has them losing to the San Francisco 49ers in the wild-card round.
Breech writes:
(5) 49ers 27-23 over (4) Panthers. Not every home team is going to win in the wild
card round. After sneaking into the postseason with the worst winning percentage any playoff team ever (.412), our projection as the 7-10 Panthers losing in the opening round.
The Panthers did push the Los Angeles Rams, a Super Bowl favorite, to the limit in last year's wild-card matchup. So, we can't rule out this scenario completely.
That said, the Niners are a much tougher matchup for the Panthers than the Rams were last year—and they're at the top of a whole lot of power rankings this week. Last season, San Francisco whooped Carolina in a Monday night matchup by a score of 20-9. (And it wasn't even really that close.)
If the Panthers do indeed win the division, we should probably expect more of the same in the postseason this year. While they're getting better, they still aren't in a position to beat any true championship contenders—especially if the injuries keep piling up.
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This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: New projection has Panthers winning division, but falling short in playoffs
