After nine weeks of the season, the NFC South is still led by a team that is only .500. It almost seems as though no one wants to take control of this division. However, the one team that seems to be getting hot at the right time is the New Orleans Saints. As we progress into the second half of the season, look for one of these teams to go on a winning streak and really take control. Here’s a preview of the NFC South matchups this week:
San Francisco 49ers at New Orleans Saints, Sunday 1PM EST
The New Orleans Saints are coming off a convincing win over the Carolina Panthers this past Thursday night. One major advantage of having a Thursday night game is that you get three days extra rest for the following game. So the Saints will be going into their Week 10 matchup on extra rest and also while their offense is really starting to click.
The San Francisco 49ers had one of their more embarrassing offensive performances this past Sunday against the St. Louis Rams. The 49ers’ offensive line gave up eight sacks to a Rams team that came into that game with a team total of six sacks all season. The only positive for the 49ers in that game was that their defense continued to hold up despite many key players still being suspended or injured.
Coming off such a heartbreaking loss in the final seconds of this game, the 49ers will be asked to go into the Superdome in New Orleans and take on a Saints team that is starting to get hot. The key for the Saints in this game is going to be getting Drew Brees and Jimmy Graham going early. If Patrick Willis misses this game and the 49ers are forced to cover Graham with rookie Chris Borland or Michael Wilhoite, it could be a long day for the San Francisco defense. Also, the Saints need to protect Brees in the pocket so he can pick apart the secondary. At 4-4, the 49ers are a desperate team. In the NFL, desperation is a very hard thing to play against. Also, this 49ers team has played the Saints very tough in their recent matchups. Because of the desperation factor, I think the 49ers win this game by a field goal.
Atlanta Falcons at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Sunday 1PM EST
This game is a matchup of the two worst teams in the division. The Buccaneers are coming off a Week 9 defeat at the hands of the Cleveland Browns while the Falcons are coming out of their bye. In the past this has been a distinct advantage for the team coming out of the bye, but recently teams have looked flat coming out of their bye weeks. Perhaps because the new CBA doesn’t allow them to practice nearly as much as before and teams aren’t as prepared as they use to be coming out of their bye. Either way, it’s something that could have an impact on this game.
The Falcons aren’t a very good team, but as long as they have Matt Ryan under center with Julio Jones and Roddy White catching passes they’ll be a potent offense. They can put up a lot of points against just about anyone, but especially against a defense as bad as the Buccaneers’. The key for Tampa Bay to stop the Falcons’ offense is going to be for them to get pressure on Ryan. The Buccaneers don’t have an elite pass rush (it’s pretty average actually) but it’s certainly the best part of their defense.
On the other side of the ball, according to PFF (subscription), it’s going to be Tampa Bay’s seventh worst offense facing off against Atlanta’s fifth worst defense. What might throw Atlanta off is that Tampa is making a switch at quarterback having Josh McCown starting over Mike Glennon. This might be an advantage for the Buccaneers because there is a lot less film on McCown from this season than there is of Glennon. There are certain things that McCown might be able to get away with because the Falcons defense won’t be expecting it. In the end though, I feel that the Falcons’ offense is just going to be too much for the Buccaneers secondary to handle. I expect the Falcons to win by one score.
Carolina Panthers at Philadelphia Eagles, Monday 8:30PM EST
This is a very intriguing game. The Eagles are decimated with injuries at the moment and the Panthers just aren’t playing very well. The Eagles are coming off a victory over the Houston Texans, which ended up being somewhat of a shootout, however, the Panthers are coming off a Thursday night game. Since this game is on a Monday night, the Panthers will have had four more days of rest than usual, which is almost like having an extra bye week.
The major injuries on offense for the Eagles are the loss of quarterback Nick Foles and offensive guard Todd Herremans. The loss of Herremans might be the bigger of the two losses but both are impactful. Without Herremans their line is downgraded immensely. This is extremely bad timing due to the talent the Panthers have on their front seven on defense. Foles’ replacement isn’t as big of a drop in talent though. The Eagles will start Mark Sanchez in Foles’ place. The Eagles’ offense doesn’t have to change at all with Sanchez in, which is a major advantage. However, last time we saw Sanchez in a starting role he lacked many of the skills one would desire in their starting quarterback. Even in his relief performance last week against the Texans he still was able to throw two interceptions. Luckily for Sanchez the Panthers’ secondary is one of the worst in the league.
On the defensive side of the ball the Eagles will be without signal caller and leader DeMeco Ryans. This could be the most impactful injury the Eagles have had all season. Ryans was playing very solid football, called all the plays on defense, diagnosed the offense and called audibles for the defense, and was a leader in the locker room. This could be huge going up against Cam Newton, DeAngelo Williams, and Jonathan Stewart. I think this will be a close game but with Mark Sanchez leading the Eagles I find it extremely hard to pick them to win. I think it’ll be a close game but the Panthers win by a field goal.