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How do you rate the NFC South after four weeks – who is the favorite?

Our NFL writers discuss.

Ted Nguyen: The NFC South is so close. Each of the three top teams does certain things at a high level, but all have some concerning weaknesses. Everyone has above-average quarterback play, but no one has an elite quarterback. Baker Mayfield is playing at the highest level, but he's still prone to holding onto the ball and creating an untimely negative play – he has the second-highest sack rate in the league among quarterbacks with 100 attempts. Derek Carr started the season well, but we're seeing some of the old bad habits come to the fore (example: throwing short when losing money). Kirk Cousins ​​has strong plays in stretches, but his inability to move is a hindrance. I prefer Mayfield and the Buccaneers because of their consistency. Tampa has an aggressive defense that poses a challenge to opposing quarterbacks, and while the offense is inconsistent, they can score a ton with their robust passing game.

Saad Yousuf: On paper, it's a three-team race to the top, but I'm a little hesitant to put the Saints in that group alongside the Buccaneers and Falcons. New Orleans is 2-2, but one win was against the Carolina Panthers, who are perhaps the worst team in the NFL, and the other was against the Dallas Cowboys, which was impressive (especially because of the way they played this one game), but the Cowboys have looked like a mediocre team for four weeks. The Saints losing to the Eagles, who were just overwhelmed by the Bucs and have looked lost since the second half of last season, doesn't inspire much confidence. In reality, it feels like two teams going head-to-head against the Bucs and the Falcons, with the Bucs coming out on top because they have the best quarterback play in the division.

Mike Jones: It's a fascinating division – at least for three of the teams. The Buccaneers are the best team in the league. Tampa features a versatile offense led by a very comfortable Baker Mayfield (347 passing yards, two passing touchdowns and a rushing touchdown in the win over Philadelphia) and a defense capable of making game-changing plays (two takeaways and six Sacks against). the Eagles). The Falcons and Saints have potential, but are still working through some issues and haven't yet achieved the level of consistency needed to really compete. But it will be interesting to see how the season goes for each of them. The Falcons, rebounding from last week's loss to Kansas City, are probably the second-best team in the division right now, as their win over the Saints suggests. But the distance between these two is very small.