The NFC South has fallen a long way from its old self

Around the NFL writer Nick Shook ranked the NFC South as the worst division in football. The New Orleans Saints have spent the last few years performing below their standards, and the same can be said about the entire division over the same time period.

Shook described the NFC South as, “a division that was once known for its parity and is now stuck in a lower-grade version of it.” That’s a perfect description of the divisional transformation.

In 2017, the NFC South put three teams into the playoffs. This was before the addition of an extra wild card team when a division could only have three playoff teams. Those days have long passed.

There haven’t been even two NFC South representatives in the playoffs since 2020. The Buccaneers only made the playoffs the past two years because they won the division. Even the top of the division has been poor.

One thing other divisions have over the NFC South is a team that feels like a bonafide contender. The Falcons could be that with the addition of Kirk Cousins, but it’s hard to see that raising the division much higher in rankings. Right above the NFC South is the AFC West. As a reminder, the repeat Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs reside in this division.

In other words, it’ll take more than one team to change the division’s current reputation.