The Tampa Bay Buccaneers walked away from Cincinnati with plenty to be frustrated about following their 33-27 loss to the Bengals. The good news is that it didn't cost them any ground in the NFC South.
That's because nobody in the division won.
Tampa Bay, Atlanta, Carolina and New Orleans all dropped their season openers, leaving the entire NFC South at 0-1 entering Week 2. It's obviously far too early for the standings to mean much, but the Bucs escaped a rough opener without falling behind any of their division rivals.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Bucs made life considerably harder on themselves in Cincinnati, losing four fumbles in the 33-27 loss. Baker Mayfield was responsible for three of them, including one Cincinnati return for a touchdown, while Bucky Irving lost
the other. Tampa Bay still had a chance late after rookie linebacker Josiah Trotter returned a Joe Burrow interception 38 yards for a touchdown and Mayfield later scored on a nine-yard run, but Cincinnati ran out the clock on its final possession.
Atlanta Falcons
Cooper Rush and the Atlanta Falcons spent most of Sunday within striking distance of Pittsburgh but couldn't do enough offensively to leave with a win. The Falcons fell 20-13 in a game that remained within one score for much of the afternoon, giving the NFC South its second loss of the day.
New Orleans Saints
The Saints came the closest to preventing an NFC South sweep. New Orleans fell behind Detroit 21-0 before battling all the way back to force overtime at 24-24. After Detroit scored a touchdown on its opening overtime possession, New Orleans answered with a touchdown of its own but went for two and the win. The attempt fell incomplete, ending the Saints' comeback with a 31-30 loss.
Carolina Panthers
Carolina had no trouble putting points on the board against Chicago in the first half, but stopping the Bears all game was an entirely different story. The game was tied 31-31 in the third quarter before Chicago pulled away, eventually handing the Panthers a 59-37 loss. The Bears finished with eight touchdowns as Carolina surrendered the most points of any NFC South team in Week 1.
It's only one week, but the NFC South essentially gets a do-over heading into Week 2. Tampa Bay's four turnovers didn't put the Bucs behind in the division, New Orleans' comeback wasn't enough to give the Saints an early advantage, and neither Atlanta nor Carolina was able to capitalize in their games.
That won't be the case for everybody next week. Atlanta and Carolina face each other in the first NFC South matchup of the season, while Tampa Bay and New Orleans get opportunities to pick up their first wins outside the division.
Up next
Buccaneers: Tampa Bay hosts the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, Sept. 20 at 1 p.m. ET.
Falcons: Atlanta hosts the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, Sept. 20 at 1 p.m. ET.
Panthers: Carolina travels to Atlanta to face the Falcons on Sunday, Sept. 20 at 1 p.m. ET.
Saints: New Orleans travels to Baltimore to face the Ravens on Sunday, Sept. 20 at 1 p.m. ET.
This article originally appeared on Bucs Wire: The NFC South somehow had an even worse Week 1 than the Bucs
