Not all stretches during an NFL season are created equal. A favorable month can launch a playoff push. A brutal one can bury a team before Thanksgiving leftovers hit the fridge.
Below, we examine the most difficult four-game stretches for each NFC South team — the gauntlets that could define division races, shape playoff hopes and, in some cases, determine whether coaches and QBs enter the offseason under pressure.
Weeks 3-6: at Green Bay Packers (Sept. 24) • at New Orleans Saints (Oct. 5) • vs. Baltimore Ravens (Oct. 11) • vs. Chicago Bears
(Oct. 18) | The early-season schedule includes three consecutive primetime games from Weeks 3-5. They play at the Packers on short rest on “Thursday Night Football,” then the Saints on “Monday Night Football” in New Orleans. The prime-time sequence concludes at home against the Ravens on “Sunday Night Football.”
Atlanta will look to build on an impressive 4-1 2025 prime-time record. It has won two consecutive “Thursday Night Football” games and is 9-1 in its past 10 “MNF” tilts dating to 2015. The Falcons have had less success on “SNF,” going 1-3 over the past two seasons. They haven’t won at home in NBC’s game of the week since 2019.
The four-game stretch ends on Oct. 18 with the Bears, who won their most recent meeting and lead the all-time series 16-14. By the end of Week 6, new head coach Kevin Stefanski may have all the info he needs on whether he made the right call between Michael Penix Jr. or Tua Tagovailoa at starting quarterback and whether a change is necessary.
Weeks 7-10: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
(Oct. 25) • at Packers (Oct. 29) • vs. Denver Broncos (Nov. 8) • at Saints (Nov. 15) | This stretch begins on Oct. 25 against the Buccaneers and former Panthers QB Baker Mayfield, who is 5-1 against the Panthers with Tampa Bay. Then the 2025 division winner travels to Green Bay on short rest for a “TNF” game. The Broncos pose a tough test after making it to the AFC Championship Game a season ago, while the Saints may have the Panthers’ number after sweeping the 2025 series.
Was last season a fluke or the start of a prolonged run for Carolina atop the NFC South? These four games will provide clarity.
Weeks 11-14: at Bears (Nov. 22) • at Cincinnati Bengals (Nov. 29) • vs. Packers (Dec. 6) • at Panthers (Dec. 13) | Even with a difficult first two games to the season on the road against the Ravens and Detroit Lions, the Saints could easily find themselves with a winning record entering this pivotal mid-November through mid-December segment that features three road games. The Bears, Bengals and Packers have offenses that will test New Orleans’ growth on offense after spending the offseason building around second-year quarterback Tyler Shough. The Panthers will look to avenge last season’s home loss to the Saints in a game that could have substantial stakes in the division race.
Weeks 6-9: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (Oct. 18) • at Panthers (Oct. 25) • vs. Falcons (Nov. 1) • at Bears (Nov. 8) | The Buccaneers have experienced in-season lulls each year under head coach Todd Bowles, who is 4-11 in Weeks 6-9 since becoming Bucs head coach in 2022.
Tampa is just 2-10 all time against the Steelers and back-to-back divisional games are never easy. A “Sunday Night Football” date against the Bears, who the Buccaneers haven’t defeated at Soldier Field since 2008, is a tough end to the stretch, which will determine whether Tampa has learned from previous mistakes or is still committing the same ones under Bowles.