Bucs Nation
The NFC South division has been an interesting one the past few seasons. It certainly hasn’t been the best, but it surely has been entertaining. The Buccaneers won four straight NFC South crowns before last year’s collapse which allowed the Panthers to take over as the top dog in the division. Tampa Bay is looking to bounce back and re-claim their crown but how do they stack up to the other teams?
Don’t get me wrong, I still have a lot of questions for this Bucs team. They have a new offensive coordinator, questions about an inconsistent quarterback, an overhauled defense and a head coach that could be on the hot seat. However, they still have a lot of talent in many important areas. Their offensive line should still remain among the league’s best, and I do believe the defense will be at least slightly better in 2026.
Tampa Bay was actually still very close to winning the division in 2025 despite the collapse. They were eliminated from playoff contention after the Atlanta Falcons beat the New Orleans Saints. Had New Orleans won that game, the Bucs would have won the tiebreaker over Carolina and taken the division.
With all of that in mind, I still have the most confidence in this Bucs group out of the rest of these teams despite the questions I may still have about them. They remain the top team and I think it’s reasonable to expect them to win the division once again.
Last year’s division winner ends up second here, but I do think Carolina did some good things this offseason. They spent big money in an effort to improve their defense, signing pass rusher Jaelan Phillips and linebacker Devin Lloyd in free agency. Both players were among the top of their positions available on the market and to be able to land both is good work by the Panthers front office.
My biggest concern with Carolina is the quarterback position. Bryce Young has rebounded nicely from what was looking like a potential end to his Carolina tenure when he was benched in 2024 but has become a much better player since then. However, I’m just not sure if he is good enough to carry a team to the postseason year in and year out. Some may disagree and that’s okay, there are things to like about Young’s game, but there are also plays that have you wondering what he was thinking. I don’t believe Carolina’s offense will be as good as Tampa Bay’s throughout the season, and I think that may be the difference.
This one was tough between the Falcons and Saints. I think both of these teams are very close but I gave the slight edge to Atlanta because I have liked the direction their defense has gone recently. Despite James Pearce Jr’s off field issues, they still have a lot of young talent on that side...
