The reigning Super Bowl champions kick off the 2021 NFL season as the Dallas Cowboys travel down to Tampa Bay to face Buccaneers in the Thursday night opener on September 9th. This game will feature the return of Dak Prescott who will be returning from a season-ending injury last season going up against a team who did not lose any starters led by quarterback Tom Brady.
The Buccaneers are looking to do something that has only been done once this century and that is to win back-to-back Super Bowls (2003-2004 Patriots).
Entering last season there was a huge shakeup in the division as six-time Super Bowl champion joined the Buccaneers and due to that it immediately made them in the conversation for NFC favorites. Their path there may not have been the easiest as they lost the division title to the Drew Brees led Saints but this season should be a little different.
The big difference in the division this season is that Brees retired and now Jameis Winston is the starting quarterback for the Saints (at least for week one). Theoretically this means the division should be under wraps for the Bucs, but none of the other teams will make it an easy path.
Matt Ryan may not be what he once was when he won MVP but he still leads a quite dangerous Falcons offense. Then we have the Panthers with the return of Christian McCaffrey who should see a little more offensive consistency to go along with a strong defense. Finally we have the Saints and though Brees may no longer be under center this is not a team to take lightly, they have a very strong defense and if Winston looks anything like he did in the preseason then it could be a race to see who wins the division.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Is there any team in the NFC which is favored more to be division champions than the reigning Super Bowl Champions? Probably not, and there is good reason as to why so many believe so. For one, the Saints (2020 division champs) lost a hall of fame quarterback and will be without their top receiver for a while so you can say they got worse. More importantly though, the Bucs are returning every starter from both the offense and the defense. It’s hard to imagine this team getting worse considering every starter is returning and you still have Tom Brady at quarterback.
One thing Brady was lacking in New England his final seasons were weapons, well, in Tampa he has tons of weapons especially after re-signing Antonio Brown, Leonard Fournette, Rob Gronkowski, and Chris Godwin (franchise tag). Add onto that a returning O.J. Howard, Ronald Jones, and Mike Evans and we could be looking at the top offense in the league. Then we look at the offensive line and we have protection for Brady on both sides and one who can create holes for the run game.
Last season this offense was a bit inconsistent as they were finding their footing, this season they should be an unstoppable force. It will be near impossible to completely stop this offense because they have so many weapons and one that should lead them right back to the playoffs.
On the defensive side we see one of the best front sevens in the game with Vita Vea and Ndamukong Suh in the middle of the line as well as Devin White, Lavonte David, and Shaquil Barrett roaming the field at linebacker. With the two big men in the middle of the line, Barrett and Pierre-Paul should be one on one to get to the quarterback every single time. This creates a recipe for disaster for opposing offensive lines and should help them be great at getting to the quarterback.
In the secondary we have a young core of Antoine Winfield Jr., Sean Murphy-Bunting, Carlton Davis, and Jordan Whitehead. Looking at the secondary last season it looked as though they would need some time before everything came together and it did, but when they finally got everything clicking they were incredible. This is a defense that help Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs to nine points in the Super Bowl. That is dangerous and there is no reason to think anything different will happen this season.
This team has everything you want when you are trying to repeat as champions and if they don’t it will be seen as a failure of a season. Brady might be another year older but at this point we know not to count out the ageless wonder and with all 22 starters returning there is no reason to count them out. The NFC South got weaker this offseason and the Buccaneers only got stronger with their younger core getting older, this is there division to lose.
Prediction: 13-4
New Orleans Saints: Drew Brees is gone, does this automatically take them out of contention in the division? No. If the preseason is any indication on how his “replacement” will play then their offense should roll just like it had been. It’s only preseason of course which means limited opportunities against the top defensive players, but Winston did complete 72.7 percent of his passes for three touchdowns although he did have one interception. Obviously Winston is not Brees but Winston is their best option to win at quarterback. It is possible to see Taysom Hill start later in the year but for now watch out for Winston.
What could be the downfall to this team however is the weapons on the offensive end. Alvin Kamara in the backfield is one of the best dual threat backs in the league and then we see a major drop-off. With Michael Thomas injured for what seems like at least half the season, Marquez Callaway and Tre’Quan Smith are the top two options outside. This is the opportunity these two need to show they can be a top receiver, but if they can’t show that then this offense may be stagnant.
They should have a fantastic offensive line that should give Winston time as well as holes for Kamara and Jones Jr. We really don’t know what to expect from this offense as of now, but expect them to be finish in the middle of the road when it comes to total offense.
Then we have the defense and this is what will keep this team in contention all season long. The front seven is great, led by Cam Jordan, Kwon Alexander, and Demario Davis. While it has its big name players it also has its questions, so players will need to step up to not let the “stars” do everything. Even with the mix of players this should be a very tough team to run against. This was the normal last season for opposing teams, but teams were able to exploit a weakness in the secondary. This season that needs to change whether it be to generate more pressure up front or better coverage by the secondary.
The same issue arises in the secondary, they have stars but they also have questions at positions. Marshon Lattimore is great but on the other side of him who knows and teams will abuse that if they are able to. The biggest issue for this team is that they didn’t make a big splash in free agency and are now leaving one of the weak spots of this team as a weak spot.
New Orleans has some great players on both sides of the ball which says they should be in contention. What is worrisome though is that for each great player there is a huge question right next to them and that is what makes it tough to consider them a “lock” to make the playoffs. It would not be surprising at all to see this team find themselves in the playoffs, but at the same time if they miss the playoffs it would not be shocking either, it all depends on what we see from the lesser known players.
Prediction: 9-8
Carolina Panthers: There is a new sheriff in town and his name is Sam Darnold. Darnold was part of the draft with Baker Mayfield, Josh Allen, and Lamar Jackson and while those three have thrived so far, Darnold has not. Now he has a second chance with a new team that has one of the best running backs in the game back and healthy in Christian McCaffrey. The offensive potential is there, now let’s see if they take advantage of it.
Part of the reason they ended up at 5-11 last season was because the offense could not put points on the board. To be fair McCaffrey was out, but they only scored 25 points or more five times last season. Then to add insult to injury when they did score their defense allowed too many points, in those games they went 1-4. It was definitely a mixed bag last season, now they need to find consistency.
It’s entirely possible to find it as McCaffrey can run and catch the ball out of the backfield, and you have two very good receivers in DJ Moore and Robby Anderson. Tight end is a question with Ian Thomas as well as the offensive line, but the offense does have promising signs. It all boils down to what we see from Darnold. He has been given a second chance and now he needs to make the most of it.
On the defensive side last year they were middle of the pack, this year they looked to add to the secondary by adding A.J. Bouye via free agency and drafting Jaycee Horn. If those two can add to a very promising second-year Jeremy Chinn then Carolina’s secondary has a chance to be great maybe not yet but very soon.
Up the middle they are still looking to replace Luke Kuechly who retired after the 2019 season but they have shown the ability to stop the run. Over a five game stretch last season they allowed 100 yards or les in the run four times—although in the one they allowed more they allowed 210 yards. The addition of Haason Reddick should help a little bit, but just like the offense, consistency is key.
Up front this is a young core led by DaQuan Jones, Derrick Brown, Brian Burns, and Morgan Fox so pressure should occur but growth is of most importance there.
Carolina’s season comes down to one word CONSISTENCY. They need to find it on both sides of the ball and if they can they can end the season possibly fighting for a wild card slot, if not it could be ugly and they could be up for a top-ten draft pick.
Prediction: 7-10
Atlanta Falcons: The move the Falcons made may have been overshadowed by the news of Brees retiring, but this was a huge move that will affect their offense this season. Julio Jones, the Falcons top receiver for nearly a decade is now on the Titans via a trade. This means that Calvin Ridley is the top receiver in the system, but if their draft meant anything then he won’t have to be the only producer in the pass game.
Kyle Pitts is rated as one of the top tight end prospects we have ever seen and now he has Matt Ryan to work with, that’s not a bad quarterback to work with. Pitts may have some struggles as nearly every rookie does, but being in a pass game with Ridley, Gage, and Hurst as the top three means that you will not be the focus of the defense (at least early in the season). The pass game wasn’t the problem on the offensive end (all the time) last season, that would be the run.
Does it help a run game when you are always playing from behind? No but the run game will need more efficiency this season. They decided not to bring back Todd Gurley, their lead rusher last season, so Mike Davis will now be their top back. The run will be important top switch things up, but it is entirely possible we see an even worse run game than last season.
Then we have the defense who was just abysmal in the pass game last season which was a big reason why they ended up 4-12. This season they have a new defensive coordinator in Dean Pees as well as almost a brand new defense. Okay, not quite but there was a lot of turnover on the defense. The new safeties in town are Erik Harris and Duron Harmon while the rest of the secondary features young players only growing.
In fact, the whole defense is only the younger side overall, which means there will be issues as we saw last season but this will all be opportunities to grow. Last season they were fantastic at defending the run and we should see a similar style there, the issue is in the pass. With Pees’ new scheme expect them to blitz a ton in odd formations which goes with an all-or-nothing format. There may be a ton of huge plays they give up, but they also may get some huge plays in return.
All in all, don’t expect the team to be too much better unless the defense learns how to hold a lead. Now, the offense will have their struggles too and because of everything I don’t see them as a viable threat in the division. They will get some big wins in the season, but don’t expect them to be a contender this season.
Prediction: 6-11