​The Atlanta Falcons are once again flying under the radar ahead of the 2026 NFL season. When you miss the playoffs eight years in a row, it’s tough to get people to buy in. However, the Falcons haven’t exactly been bad in recent seasons. In fact, they’ve been remarkably average.Former Falcons head coach Arthur Smith went 7-9 in three consecutive years (2021-2023), then Raheem Morris finished 8-9 in back-to-back seasons (2024-2025). Now, it’s up to Kevin Stefanski to snap the team’s run of mediocrity.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAtlanta isn’t the only NFC South team in the midst of a mediocre run, though. The entire division has been below average for the last four seasons.NFL.com ranked all eight divisions ahead of the 2026 season, and I’ll bet you guess where the NFC South landed. Considering the Carolina Panthers won the division with an 8-9 record, it should come as no surprise that the NFC South was ranked dead last.”Kevin Stefanski moved from Cleveland to Atlanta, taking over a team in need of an offensive spark — and a concrete answer at quarterback,” wrote Nick Shook. “Michael Penix Jr. is still returning from injury and isn’t guaranteed to be ready for Week 1, leaving room for offseason addition Tua Tagovailoa to attempt his best Sam Darnold impression following an ugly exit from Miami. Stefanski will have to solve — and most likely manage — the quarterback situation before pushing the Falcons forward.”The Panthers won the division for the first time in a decade, but it was anything but convincing. Per usual, it seemed like nobody wanted to win the NFC South. The Falcons sputtered around until they were eliminated from playoff contention, then turned around and won their final four games.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe New Orleans Saints went from being one of the coldest teams in the league over the first half of the season to arguably the NFL’s hottest club over the final month. Meanwhile, the Buccaneers and Panthers took turns impersonating Charlie Brown attempting to kick a field goal.No team really did much to separate themselves from the others ahead of the 2026 season. Will this finally be the year that the NFC South puts itself back on the map?We wouldn’t count on it, but crazier things have happened in the NFL.This article originally appeared on Falcons Wire: NFC South ranked worst division in the NFL entering 2026