Thats actually a decent point. Saints will have a new staff and may need to move on from Carr without an obvious path to finding a replacement level QB. Best bet they probably have is to win the Kirk Cousins for minimum sweepstakes and hope he rebounds. Otherwise they could be an easy matchup. Carolina seems like they are on upswing (particularly with Youngs play to end year).
I guess we hope CMC is permanently broke and that 49ers have to cut a lot of weight to prepare for a Purdy extension and get to have the fun of premier QB money for him.
First step to 10 wins is 3-3 in the division. They played 4 of the division games within a field goal with this roster/staff. Minny could be down next year too if they opt to go to McCarthy or Darnold turns into pumpkin.
If they could go 3-3 in division, can they go 7-4 against following?
Giants Cowboys Commanders Eagles Steelers Browns Ravens Bengals Raiders Saints 49ers
Not a ton of room for error, but yes I think they have the capacity to get there from where they stand today (just very generally speaking, not a vote of confidence for who's actually making the decisions, but they can prove me wrong!)