Buccaneers Are Very Fortunate NFC South Looks Like This After Week 1

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers got lucky when it comes to the NFC South landscape in Week 1.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Josiah Trotter (45) scores a third-quarter touchdown at Paycor Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost their NFL opener to the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, dropping them to 0-1 for the first time since 2020.

Any loss is a blow in the NFL, and typically, it can put a team behind in the race for the playoffs. According to Rotowire, teams that lose their Week 1 game make the playoffs just 25.6% of the time, meaning the Buccaneers could already be facing an uphill battle.

That being said, not every division is the NFC South. The Bucs play in one of the weakest divisions in football, and the division winner has won double-digit games just once in the last four seasons. The Bucs may have lost their Week 1 matchup, but thankfully, they haven't fallen behind in the division at all.

NFC South Still All Even Heading Into Week 2

Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles looks on before a preseason game against the Jacksonville Jaguars | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Bucs may have lost their Week 1 game, but thankfully, so did everyone else in the division.

Team	W	L	T	Pct.	PF	PA	Home	Away	Strk
Atlanta Falcons	0	1	0	.000	13	20	0-0	0-1	L1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	0	1	0	.000	27	33	0-0	0-1	L1
New Orleans Saints	0	1	0	.000	30	31	0-0	0-1	L1
Carolina Panthers	0	1	0	.000	37	59	0-1	0-0	L1

The Buccaneers lost their game against the Bengals in Week 1, as mentioned. Tampa Bay was one of two teams, alongside the Atlanta Falcons, to play an AFC opponent in Week 1.

The Carolina Panthers gave up 59 points to the Chicago Bears and lost 59-37, losing their home opener. That loss was the most amount of points the Panthers have ever given up in a single game in their franchise's history.

The Atlanta Falcons were forced to play their third-string quarterback, Cooper Rush, after an injury to Tua Tagovailoa. They weren't able to beat the Steelers, losing 20-13, and they're the other team in Week 1 that faced off against an AFC opponent and has yet to play an NFC game.

Finally, the New Orleans Saints took the Detroit Lions to overtime, but a failed two-point conversion saw them lose 31-30 on the road. The Saints overcame a 21-point deficit to take the game to extra time.

As it stands, the entire division starts with a clean slate in Week 2, with the entire conference picking up a loss. The Saints and the Panthers have it slightly worse when it comes to potential tiebreakers, though, as they lost to an in-conference opponent and neither the Bucs nor the Falcons did.

The Bucs will face off against another AFC team, the Cleveland Browns, in Week 2 for the chance at a get-right game. The Panthers and the Falcons will face off against each other for the season's first NFC South matchup this Sunday, while the Saints will play their Week 2 game against the AFC's Baltimore Ravens.

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