Falcons

Kevin Stefanski takes over as head coach this year, brought in to replace Raheem Morris and push a franchise that has won four NFC South titles since 2004 but still has no championship to show for it. Owner Arthur Blank, who has run the club since 2002, is banking on a new voice to finally get Atlanta past where it keeps stalling.

The Falcons owe their existence to a turf war rather than a fan campaign: in 1965, NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle handed the franchise to Rankin M. Smith Sr. specifically to keep Atlanta out of the rival American Football League's hands. The team took the field the following season.

Their nickname came decades later and from the locker room, not the front office. "The Dirty Birds" grew out of running back Jamal Anderson's touchdown dance during the 1998 season, when the Falcons reached their first Super Bowl and lost to the Denver Broncos.

Their second Super Bowl appearance is the one that follows the franchise everywhere. Up 28-3 on the New England Patriots in the third quarter of Super Bowl LI, Atlanta let the game slip away in overtime, 34-28. Nothing since has quite matched it, for better or worse.

The New Orleans Saints remain the rivalry that matters most, sharpened over the years by moments like Steve Gleason's blocked punt in 2006.