The Tampa Bay Buccaneers enter 2026 hoping to reclaim the NFC South, but expectations for success within the division look considerably different than they do elsewhere around the NFL.FOX Sports' Greg Auman recently separated all 32 teams into tiers based on what would define a successful 2026 season. His assessment of the NFC South was simple: "Just Win the NFC South."
Not only did Tampa Bay land in that category, but so did the Carolina Panthers, Atlanta Falcons, and New Orleans Saints. It is the only division where all four teams share the exact same definition of success, and last season provides a pretty good explanation why. It simply hasn't taken much to win the NFC South lately. Carolina captured the division in 2025 with an 8-9 record,
ending Tampa Bay's run of four consecutive division titles. The Panthers didn't exactly separate themselves from the competition, either. Tampa Bay and Atlanta also finished 8-9, creating a three-way tie atop the division that Carolina ultimately won through the NFL's tiebreaking procedures. New Orleans finished last at 6-11. That means the difference between hosting a playoff game and finishing third in the division came down to a tiebreaker.
The NFC South has struggled to produce a dominant team for several years. A team with a losing record has now won the division twice in the past four seasons, and nobody has reached 11 wins since the Buccaneers went 13-4 with Tom Brady in 2021. For Tampa Bay, that makes the expectations entering this season clear. They need to avoid the type of collapse that cost them the division last season and take advantage of a race that once again appears to be there for anyone to win. Tampa Bay has undergone significant changes, Carolina enters as the defending champion, Atlanta has a new coaching staff, and New Orleans finished last season with some momentum. But Auman putting all four teams in the same tier says a lot about the division's current state. No clear powerhouse is there for everyone else to chase. The path back to the postseason remains straightforward. Win the games inside the division, avoid giving away winnable games elsewhere, and get back on top of the NFC South.
This article originally appeared on Bucs Wire: Entire NFC Souths' goal in 2026? WIN the South
