ESPN makes bold prediction for NFC South in 2026
· Yahoo Sports
The 2026 NFL season is still over two months away, but training camps open in just a few weeks. The Atlanta Falcons and the other NFC South teams are attempting to set themselves apart in the league's most consistently mediocre division.
Last season, the Falcons won their final four games of the year to end in a three-way tie for the NFC South title, however, they ultimately finished in third place due to divisional tiebreakers. The Carolina Panthers finished in first, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers took second, and the New Orleans Saints finished in last place.
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The Saints won three out of four games before losing to the Falcons in the 2025 NFL season finale, finishing with a 6-11 record. While their record wasn't great, the emergence of rookie quarterback Tyler Shough gave the franchise hope for the future.
In fact, ESPN's Ben Solak even predicted New Orleans to win the division in 2026.
"The Saints look like an ascendant team to me," wrote Solak. "They have a young quarterback good enough to win with, sharp coaches on both sides of the ball, good offensive line play and enough young bets at the skill positions for this offense to be more than just Olave. They're a few blue-chip players away from true contention, but in the measly NFC South with a fourth-place schedule? A divisional title is achievable."
This may seem like somewhat of a reach, but the Saints did get better. One big move that will benefit New Orleans is the addition of Kaden Elliss.
The former Falcons linebacker signed a three-year, $33 million deal with the Saints in free agency. Elliss was the leader of Atlanta's defense for the last few seasons and the team doesn't have a clear replacement on the roster. It's the Saints defense that really got Solak to buy in:
"Shough grabs the headlines because he's the shiny new quarterback, but the Saints' strong finish was far more about their defense than their offense. Coordinator Brandon Staley's unit was 13th in DVOA (11th in weighted DVOA, which prefers recent games) and sixth in success rate. Only the Seahawks and Broncos allowed explosive plays at a lower rate. Only three defenses -- those two and the Vikings -- got stops more often on third down."
The Falcons have won three out of their last four games against the Saints, and completed the season sweep in 2025. Atlanta will look to keep that streak going against against the team's most-hated rivals in 2026.
This article originally appeared on Falcons Wire: ESPN makes bold prediction for NFC South in 2026