The NFL offseason has officially reached April, meaning teams around the league are already brainstorming their hopes and aspirations for the 2025 campaign.
It's safe to say that making the NFL postseason will be near the top of the Atlanta Falcons' goal list for next season. Even though the franchise finished last season with their most wins (8) since the 2017 campaign, the Falcons' 2024 performance wasn't good enough to end the playoff drought, extending their postseason absence to seven consecutive years.
While an NFL playoff berth is likely most Falcons players' main goal for 2025, the same can't be said for a rival quarterback.
Falcons News: Panthers QB Bryce Young Has Embarrassing 2025 Goal
Even though the Falcons haven't experienced much recent success, they haven't been nearly as bad as the rival Carolina Panthers. Even though the NFC South rival's playoff drought is just as long, the Panthers' recent history is much worse considering that they've finished with five or fewer wins in five of the last six seasons.
That level of losing can negatively impact a player's mindset, which appears to be the case with Panthers QB Bryce Young. Carolina's losing reputation has gotten to the point where the 23-year-old signal-caller will simply be happy if he "wins games" next season.
"At the end of the day, I want to win games," Young said in a quote shared on the Panthers' social media pages.
Winner's mentality pic.twitter.com/F8q7ag7XP4
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) April 4, 2025
The Panthers have to be in a bad spot if simply winning games — the goal for the majority of football players — is worth making a graphic for. Yes, having only six victories in two seasons is likely disappointing for the former 2023 draft pick, however, one would assume he'd be aiming for something higher than improving his win total.
Young's goal also reflects how low the bar is for the Panthers if their fans are excited about the prospect of winning regular-season games. Most fanbases wouldn't be happy with such a bare-minimum target, however, that clearly isn't the case after the franchise's frequent five-win seasons.
It's also hard to imagine the Panthers winning many games based on recent division history. They're an abysmal 10-20 against the NFC South since the start of the 2020 season, and that trend is unlikely to change until the Panthers silence the doubters on the gridiron.
As division rivals, the Falcons will have two opportunities this fall to foil Young and the Panthers' embarrassingly simple goal for 2025. It's also worth noting that FanDuel Sportsbook has Carolina tied with the New Orleans Saints for the lowest projected win total in the NFC South (6.5). The Falcons sit at 7.5 while the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lead the way at 9.5.
As for the division race itself, the Buccaneers are currently FanDuel's +120 favorite to win the NFC South, leaving the Falcons in second (+240) followed by the Panthers (+440) and Saints (+500).
More Atlanta Falcons News & Rumors:
Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.