Buccaneers' NFC South lead extremely narrow after loss to Bills

What was once a considerable lead in the NFC South for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to start the year has shrunk.

The Buccaneers have lost three of their last four games, and they head into Week 12 set to play perhaps the best team in football in the Los Angeles Rams. That division lead could shrink even further, and if the Carolina Panthers end up winning their Week 12 game, the Bucs will lose the division lead in the NFC South outright.

Here's what the NFC South looks like after Week 11, with the Buccaneers hanging on by a thread:

Buccaneers just half a game over Carolina Panthers in NFC South

The Buccaneers have lost three of their last four games, as previously mentioned, but the Carolina Panthers have won two of their last three, and it shows. The Panthers beat the Atlanta Falcons in overtime, 30-27, and that game put the Panthers at 6-5 and the Falcons at 3-7. The Panthers haven't had their bye week yet, and as a result, the Buccaneers are just half a game up in the NFC South.

Team	W	L	Pct.	PF	PA	Home	Away	Streak
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	6	4	.600	252	250	2-2	4-2	L2
Carolina Panthers	6	5	.545	207	249	3-2	3-3	W1
Atlanta Falcons	3	7	.300	195	239	2-3	1-4	L5
New Orleans Saints	2	8	.200	155	250	1-4	1-4	W1

The Saints didn't play in Week 11 on their own bye, so as it stands, the Panthers are the only NFC South team who hasn't had their bye week yet.

The Bucs have some good and bad news when it comes to the divisional race. Bad news first — they play the Rams in Week 12, who are arguably the NFL's best squad and just beat the 7-2 Seattle Seahawks in Week 11. The good news is that their schedule clears up considerably after that, and the Panthers' schedule gets much, much worse.

The Buccaneers will play the Arizona Cardinals, Miami Dolphins and each NFC South team, the Panthers twice, to round out the year after Week 12. The Panthers, meanwhile, have to play the San Francisco 49ers in Week 12, the Rams in Week 13 and the Seahawks in Week 17, and that's on top of still having to play the Buccaneers twice. The Panthers have a much harder schedule, so it will still be an uphill battle to dethrone the Buccaneers in the NFC South.

The Bucs play the Rams on the road in Week 12 while the Panthers have a chance to take the lead in the NFC South outright with a win over the San Francisco 49ers. The Falcons and the Saints will play each other in Week 12 for their first divisional matchup of the year.

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