NFC South schedule preview: Breaking down the division’s 2024 opponents

NFL writers across the country had hoped we might get the 2024 schedule announcement this week, but alas, all we got was the news Tuesday night that the league will reportedly unveil the dates and times for all 272 regular-season games on May 15 at 8 p.m. ET.

Here's the thing: All 32 teams already know all their opponents for the upcoming season, and they've known them since the 2023 regular-season ended. So all next week's big deal will tell us is when each game is … which, of course, is still a major event on the NFL calendar.

But to help tide you over until the big reveal next week, let's look at what's ahead for the NFC South, which will try to shed its reputation as the league's worst division. So here are a few talking points to understand about the soon-to-be-learned schedules ahead:

1. External expectations are still low

There's optimism that the NFC South will take a step forward in 2024, with the Bucs and Saints bringing much of their core back and the Falcons adding Kirk Cousins (and yes, rookie Michael Penix Jr.) at quarterback and the Panthers revamping their entire team after a 2-15 record.

The oddsmakers aren't sold just yet. Add up the over-unders for team wins (we used BetMGM) and the NFC South is still projected to be the worst division in the NFL, going a combined 29-39. The division actually went 27-41 last year, so even that is somehow a step forward, but no other division is projected to have fewer than 32 wins, so the reputation is still there.

2. Here are the basics

NFL schedules follow a simple formula and rotation: Each division has its own six division games, and has all four teams play two entire divisions, one from their conference and one from the opposite, plus three games against teams