Colin Cowherd: Panthers 'undoubtedly better' than Saints going into 2024 NFL season

Carolina's Week 1 opponents, the New Orleans Saints might be the worst team in the NFC South on paper this year.

Dec 10, 2023; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Saints offensive tackle Ryan Ramczyk (71) talks with Carolina Panthers offensive tackle Taylor Moton (72) after the game at the Caesars Superdome. / Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

The first order of business for the Carolina Panthers this coming season will be taking care of a familiar foe when they visit the New Orleans Saints in Week 1. In recent years New Orleans has dominated this particular divisional rivalry, winning both games last season and 11 of the last 15 matchups overall.

However, heading into the 2024 NFL season the Saints don't look nearly as tough as they used to in the prime of the Drew Brees, Sean Payton era. Colin Cowherd from Fox Sports for one thinks that both the Panthers and the Atlanta Falcons are undoubtedly better than the Saints this year. Watch.

"I think Dennis Allen is the first coach to be let go...Atlanta and Carolina are undoubtedly better teams. No question... I don't see the juice offensively"

-- Colin Cowherd gives his "Bold Predictions" for the NFL season pic.twitter.com/1x8yYYbnrf

— Saints Film Room (@SaintsFilmRoom) August 20, 2024

At least on paper the Falcons are definitely the best team in the NFC South right now. The only piece they were missing was a reliable quarterback, and they got two major infusions this offseason by signign Kirk Cousins and drafting Michael Penix. Either way they should get a big upgrade over what they saw out of Desmond Ridder the last couple of seasons.

Carolina's case as "undoubtedly better" than New Orleans is not nearly as strong, but that doesn't mean Cowherd is wrong. The Saints have a strong defense but their offense would be much better-served letting the more-aggressive rookie Spencer Rattler lead things than hyper-conservative Derek Carr, but knowing head coach Dennis Allen that seems like a far-fetched scenario. That means most likely their basement will remain high but their ceiling low. If the Saints sputter out of the gate it's not unthinkable that Allen could be the first coach fired.

The Panthers can help by beating them Week 1, but for now they're still four-point underdogs.

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