Bucs Tied For First in NFC South After Week 1

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New Orleans Saints are tied at the top.

Dec 31, 2023; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) throws the ball against the New Orleans Saints during the second half at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images / Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are looking to win the NFC South for the fourth year in a row. To do that, many pundits before the season began believed that the Atlanta Falcons would be their biggest opponent, and while the Buccaneers did good to begin their quest with a win over the Washington Commanders, they may need to look out for a different opponent in their division this year.

The Buccaneers won their matchup vs. the Commanders 37-20, but despite that, they find themselves second in the NFC South — they're technically tied for first, but the New Orleans Saints shredded division rivals in the Carolina Panthers 47-10 on Sunday, so a division win puts them on top for now.

The Carolina Panthers didn't fare well, as previously mentioned, and their point differential and loss to a divisional opponent put them at the bottom. And the Falcons, who many picked to win the division this year, dropped a rough game to the Pittsburgh Steelers 18-10 and thus find themselves in third.

Team	W	L	T	Pct	PF	PA	Home	Away	Stk
New Orleans Saints	1	0	0	1.000	47	10	1-0	0-0	W1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	1	0	0	1.000	37	20	1-0	0-0	W1
Atlanta Falcons	0	0	1	.000	10	18	0-1	0-0	L1
Carolina Panthers	0	0	1	.000	10	47	0-0	0-1	L1

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Tampa Bay will get a lot of NFC South games out of the way early. They'll play the Atlanta Falcons for the first time in Week 5 for Thursday Night Football and then the New Orleans Saints right after in Week 6. They play the Falcons again in Week 8, so that stretch will be crucial for Tampa Bay going forward in their quest to four-peat the division and return to the playoffs.

There are no divisional matchups in Week 2 for any NFC South team. The Buccaneers will play the Detroit Lions on the road, the Saints will head to Dallas to play the Cowboys, the Falcons will head to Philadelphia to play the Eagles and the Panthers will host the Los Angeles Chargers at home.

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