The NFC South is completely up in the air in 2023. There might not be a division with more question marks on every team, not in the most positive way either. The Saints addition of Derek Carr should give them an upper hand in the quarterback race, but there are still so many moving parts
NFL Network’s Adam Rank predicted the win-loss record of every team in the NFL, and his predictions have the Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, and New Orleans Saints all finishing 9-8. Not only that, all teams went 3-3 in the division and 6-6 in the conference.
This epitomizes how close this division feels to many analysts. That is three teams in the division with identical overall records, conference records and divisional records. If Rank’s predictions were to come true, the division winner would then be decided by other tiebreakers like strength of victory and strength of schedule — you can find the NFL’s 12-step process for deciding three-way ties here.
But what about the individual games? Here are Rank’s predictions for the Saints in 2023:
Week 1 vs. Tennessee Titans- Win (1-0)
Week 2 at Carolina Panthers- Loss (1-1)
Week 3 at Green Bay Packers- Loss (1-2)
Week 4 vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers- Win (2-2)
Week 5 at New England Patriots- Loss (2-3)
Week 6 at Houston Texans- Win (3-3)
Week 7 vs. Jacksonville Jaguars- Loss (3-4)
Week 8 at Indianapolis Colts- Win (4-4)
Week 9 vs. Chicago Bears- Win (5-4)
Week 10 at Minnesota Vikings- Loss (5-5)
Week 11 Bye- (5-5)
Week 12 at Atlanta Falcons- Loss (5-6)
Week 13 vs. Detroit Lions- Win (6-6)
Week 14 vs. Carolina Panthers- Win (7-6)
Week 15 vs. New York Giants- Win (8-6)
Week 16 at Los Angeles Rams- Loss (8-7)
Week 17 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers- Loss (8-8)
Week 18 vs. Atlanta Falcons- Win (9-8)
