{"id":73374,"date":"2019-09-19T20:02:50","date_gmt":"2019-09-20T00:02:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/?p=73374"},"modified":"2019-09-19T20:02:50","modified_gmt":"2019-09-20T00:02:50","slug":"drew-brees-out-battle-nfc-south","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2019\/09\/19\/drew-brees-out-battle-nfc-south\/","title":{"rendered":"With Drew Brees Out, the Battle for the NFC South Opens Up"},"content":{"rendered":"

As probably all of us know by now, New Orleans Saints<\/a> quarterback Drew Brees<\/a><\/strong> suffered a hand injury in the loss to the Los Angeles Rams<\/a> in Week 2 and will be out about six weeks. The question is, what happens in the NFC South now? The Saints were expected to be division champs again and even Super Bowl contenders going into this season. And it didn\u2019t seem that most were expecting any of the other three teams in the division to make a playoff run. But now \u2013 even though Brees will return \u2013 the South is suddenly wide open, at least for the time being.<\/p>\n

What Happens in the NFC South With Drew Brees Out?<\/h2>\n

Saints Aren\u2019t Exactly Dead<\/h3>\n

Despite the loss of Drew Brees for over a month, this hardly finishes the Saints. They had a talented roster coming in to begin with well beyond Brees. They\u2019ve still got a couple of superstars on offense in Alvin Kamara<\/a> <\/strong>and Michael Thomas<\/a><\/strong>. Granted, the level of talent tapers off a little after that. But they\u2019ve got a decent defense to help carry them too.<\/p>\n

The question does in part become how well Teddy Bridgewater<\/a><\/strong> (or Taysom Hill<\/a><\/strong>?) can play. He doesn\u2019t need to be spectacular. He just needs to not be terrible and to not make critical mistakes in crunch time. It\u2019s hard to know what to expect out of him, given that he\u2019ll be getting his first regular season start since 2015. But ultimately, it\u2019s very unlikely that the Saints are just going to lose every game until Brees returns. Based on the schedule \u2013 and assuming that Brees returns after Week 9\u2019s bye week \u2013 it\u2019s fair to assume they might be 3-5 or 4-4 by then. The question is if they\u2019ll have fallen behind in the division race by then \u2013 and if Brees is indeed ready to play by then.<\/p>\n

The Next Two Best Chances<\/h3>\n

The Atlanta Falcons<\/a> and Tampa Bay Buccaneers<\/a> look to be the teams with the best shots at taking advantage of this situation. Some might think that it would clearly be the Falcons, but that\u2019s not necessarily the case. The Falcons defeated the Philadelphia Eagles<\/a> on primetime, but just the week before they got destroyed by the Minnesota Vikings<\/a>. So while they do have a pretty loaded offense, the offensive line itself is still rather suspect and the defense is iffy as well.<\/p>\n

The same is true of the Buccaneers. While it\u2019s tempting to write them off just because of Jameis Winston<\/strong><\/a>, the team doesn\u2019t rely entirely on the quarterback to do anything like with last year. The defense has notably improved; it mostly kept the San Francisco 49ers<\/a> offense in check and shut down a depleted Carolina Panthers<\/a> offense as well. Furthermore, they have Bruce Arians<\/strong> at coach now. And he\u2019s likely to keep this team fighting even if they aren\u2019t exactly expected to be a contender. But of course, Winston will still be Winston. And as such, the Buccaneers are still going to lose games now and then.<\/p>\n

Write off the Panthers<\/h3>\n

This leaves the Panthers, and they\u2019re probably the one team in this equation that you can safely write off. Cam Newton<\/a><\/strong> has looked like a shell of himself in the first two weeks, and now we find out that he could potentially miss time. And Christian McCaffrey<\/a><\/strong> isn\u2019t quite as huge a threat when Newton can\u2019t run. And it\u2019s difficult to see this team doing much with Kyle Allen<\/a><\/strong> or Will Grier<\/strong><\/a> at quarterback, should Newton miss any time.<\/p>\n

Last Word<\/h3>\n

So ultimately we\u2019re left with a three-way battle for the South, after initially expecting the Saints to run away with it. The Saints could still very well be okay without Brees, but the Falcons and even Buccaneers still stand to benefit from this situation. On paper, the Falcons look to have the best shot at taking the South lead here. But they also have to get out of their own way and not give up too many sacks. The Buccaneers may be an underdog here, but don\u2019t be shocked if they end up contending for the division lead as well.<\/p>\n

An also possible scenario here is that none of these teams take a decisive lead over the next six week and that we have a two or three-way tie by the time Brees is expected to return. In that case, the Saints would be in good shape to presumably get back to running away with the division. But it\u2019s also within the realm of possibility that Brees isn\u2019t ready by then. Watching this NFC South situation unfold over the next several weeks will surely be interesting nonetheless.<\/p>\n

Main Photo:
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>