Updated 2020 NFL predictions have the Saints going all the way to the top

The latest NFL predictions from USA TODAY have the New Orleans Saints winning their fourth consecutive NFC South title, and Super Bowl 55.

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Just how good can the New Orleans Saints be in 2020? How many games can they realistically win? After putting two 13-win seasons together back-to-back for the first time in team history, it’s fair to wonder if that’s their ceiling.

And while the latest NFL predictions from Nate Davis for USA TODAY has the Saints winning just 12 games instead of 13 this season, he forecasts an even bigger accomplishment than their fourth consecutive NFC South crown: a victory over the Baltimore Ravens in Super Bowl LV.

Those are some serious expectations, but it’s been the standard for the Saints for years now. This just might be their last shot at winning it all with Drew Brees calling the shots from under center. Here’s what Davis wrote of his prediction for the Saints:

It seems any internal fissures caused by Brees’ comments about standing for the flag in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death have at least been caulked over. On paper, good luck finding weaknesses on a veteran roster coach Sean Payton has so much confidence in that he punted the virtual offseason. Newly signed WR Emmanuel Sanders, S Malcolm Jenkins, third-year DE Marcus Davenport and now-healthy RB Alvin Kamara loom as difference makers for a squad coming off a 13-3 effort and seeking a fourth straight division crown. However the Saints might really miss their fans in a year with so many tough non-divisional teams (Packers, Chargers, 49ers, Chiefs, Vikings) coming to the Superdome.

Elsewhere around the NFC South, Davis anticipates Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to get locked into a two-horse race for second-best, with the stuck-in-the-mud Atlanta Falcons. He’s skeptical that Brady and rookie tackle Tristan Wirfs will hit the ground running against a slate of big-name pass rushers that starts with Cameron Jordan, while also questioning whether the Falcons can have as much success in the second half of the 2020 season as they saw last year (beating both the Saints and the San Francisco 49ers on the road).

Meanwhile, Davis suspects it’ll take more than Teddy Bridgewater alone to fill the void of team leadership that the Carolina Panthers lost between dual departures for Cam Newton and Luke Kuechley. They’re a distant fourth-place finish, with a chance at landing the top pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.

You can read the full team-by-team breakdown from Davis by following this link, or get a quick look at how thing shook out where we’ve embedded them below:

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