​On a recent episode of “Football 301,” Yahoo Sports’ Nate Tice and Josh Norris predicted the fortunes of the NFC South with standout players, X factors and, of course, win totals.Both predicted that the Buccaneers and Saints would tie at 9-8 atop the division.”I’m going to say narrowly the Tampa Bay Buccaneers win the South,” Norris said. “That final Week 18 matchup against the New Orleans Saints, they [enter] one game back. They win it [and] some sort of tiebreaker aligns in their favor.”Below, we break down their projected win total picks for each squad:TeamTice’s win totalNorris’ win totalO/UBuccaneers9-89-88.5Saints9-89-87.5Panthers8-97-107.5Falcons4-134-136.5Tampa Bay BuccaneersWin total projections:Josh Norris: 9-8Nate Tice: 9-8Norris and Tice are unified in their optimism for the Bucs. A healthy, potentially top-five offensive line and continuity at quarterback with Baker Mayfield are the driving factors here, along with slight defensive improvements. However, Vita Vea’s trade request has some of that faith tamped down. “He literally is the keystone player for the defense,” Tice said “He’s literally the player in the middle that everything else is pinched and holding up the whole aqueduct of that defense.”Play Yahoo’s new College Fantasy Football game: Create or join a league now!New Orleans SaintsWin total projections:Josh Norris: 9-8Nate Tice: 9-8Norris and Tice note the enormous upside with Kellen Moore’s offensive play-calling prowess and a talented, if not injury-prone, roster. Both stress, however, that the ceiling is reachable only if offensive line and skill position players stay healthy — making the Saints a true boom-or-bust candidate.”Kellen Moore also does a scheme, or at least the branches of a scheme that you want in a 2026 offense,” Tice said. “[It] has a little bit of everything in the run game, has a diverse kind of third-down and red zone packages. They can go under center. They do play action. “And they have enough weapons that can create explosive plays.”Carolina PanthersWin total projections:Josh Norris: 7-10 Nate Tice: 8-9Norris expects a bit of regression as the Panthers, who won the division at 8-9 in a three-way tie, deal with offensive line injuries and a run game that needs a jolt from breakout candidate Jonathon Brooks. “He has this almost one-speed running style and he doesn’t look that fast,” Norris said. “But then you see him getting to the safeties and running straight past them. “I didn’t expect a guy of that size to run that fluidly. And he breaks tackles and creates yards on his own.” Atlanta FalconsWin total projections:Josh Norris: 4-13Nate Tice: 4-13In Atlanta, Norris and Tice see a team quietly realigning for a leap in 2027, rather than 2026. The Falcons have questions at quarterback, a depleted defense and generally lack a win-now infrastructure. Bright spots like Bijan Robinson, Drake London and Jessie Bates III will flash, but Atlanta is at least a year away from contention.”There’s a lot under