The late owner of the Oakland (soon to be Las Vegas) Raiders, Al Davis, said it so succinctly: “Just win, baby!” The Buccaneers are the only team in the South with a perfect divisional record at 1-0, having started the year off with that win in New Orleans. We are, however, currently looking up at New Orleans and Carolina who have better overall records at 3-1. But the Saints are 1-1 in the division, and the Panthers 0-1. The Falcons have an overall record of 1-4 and are 1-1 in the division, hopefully soon to be 1-5 (1-2) after a visit by the Bucs this coming Sunday.
Speaking of Atlanta, after running into the buzz saw that is the Steelers yesterday, they are a wounded dog starting to pick up the pieces, not to be taken lightly. But a Buccaneer win in Atlanta on Sunday would be the very start we need to begin our march to divisional dominance. The Panthers have games coming up against Washington, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, not a cake walk in the bunch. The Saints will probably be celebrating Drew Brees breaking Peyton Manning’s all-time passing yardage record during tonight’s contest against the Redskins. Here’s hoping that after they stop the game and the Hall of Fame employees have whisked the record-setting ball away for enshrinement in Canton, the ‘skins can ruin the Saints’ party with a loss. After that, the Saints have contests coming up against the Ravens, Vikings, and even the Rams as they begin the second half of the season.
So the top of the NFC South is well within our grasp. I mean, we still have to play the games, and coming out of the bye week we have to have figure out a way to slow down opposition passing games, but we are right in the thick of this thing.
It’s been 16 years since the NFL went to a four-division platform, and the NFC South has sent a team to the Super Bowl 8 times if you include the Falcons, who blew a 28-point lead to the Patriots in 2016 (for you, Keith). It’s going to take some help from other NFL teams and a lot of attitude from Tampa Bay, but to be the leader of the pack in the South, the Buccaneers will need to take that first step in Atlanta on Sunday.
Sources: NFL.com, Wikipedia
