Buccaneers luck out, maintain outright NFC South lead after Week 10

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are still outright kings of the South thanks to a misstep by the Carolina Panthers.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) stands on the field during the fourth quarter against the New England Patriots | Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers would have remained leaders of the NFC South no matter what after Week 10, but there was a scenario — a likely one, even — where that lead got uncomfortably close. Fortunately for them, that's not the case, and they still have a cushion in their division heading into Week 11.

The Buccaneers dropped their Week 10 matchup with the New England Patriots 28-23, moving down to 6-3 on the year. Thankfully, they got some fortune from their main competitor in the division, the Carolina Panthers, so their NFC South lead wasn't affected on Sunday.

NFC South holds steady after Week 10

New England Patriots running back Treveyon Henderson (32) runs for a gain past Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Josh Hayes (32) | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

The Carolina Panthers lost at home to the New Orleans Saints, causing them to drop to 5-5 — still one game back from the Bucs, just like they were last week. Additionally, the Atlanta Falcons lost their game against the Indianapolis Colts in Berlin, keeping them two games back from the Panthers.

Here's what the NFC South looks like after Week 10:

Team	W	L	T	Pct.	PF	PA	Home	Away	Streak
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	6	3	0	.667	220	206	2-2	4-1	L1
Carolina Panthers	5	5	0	.500	177	222	3-2	2-3	L1
Atlanta Falcons	3	6	0	.333	168	209	2-2	1-4	L4
New Orleans Saints	2	8	0	.200	155	250	1-4	1-4	W1

The Buccaneers would have held the tiebreaker over the Panthers and maintained an NFC South lead, but it would have been very tight had the Panthers beaten the Saints, one of the best teams in the league. They didn't do that, fortunately for Tampa Bay, but the Bucs will need to play better if they want to ensure a comfortable win during the season.

The Buccaneers have four NFC South games left, playing the Falcons and Saints one more time each and then the Panthers almost back to back in Week 16 and Week 18, only marred by a Week 17 matchup in Miami against the Dolphins.

The Buccaneers will have a tough task the next two weeks, and that starts with the Buffalo Bills on the road in Buffalo. The Panthers will play the Falcons for the second time this season in another NFC South matchup, and the Saints will go on bye before they play the Falcons in two weeks.

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