The Buccaneers didn’t just lose the NFC South in 2025 - they let it slip through their fingers.
That’s the backdrop for Tampa Bay’s first divisional test of 2026, a Week 7 trip to Charlotte to face the Panthers at 1:00 on Fox. For Todd Bowles and the Bucs, it’s more than just an early measuring stick inside the division. It’s a chance to start clawing back the ground they gave away, and maybe quiet some of the pressure that comes with a season that now feels loaded with urgency.
Carolina, to be fair, did enough to improve. Dave Canales, the former Bucs offensive coordinator now running the Panthers, deserves credit for helping lift the team from 5-12 to 8-9.
But the bigger story was Tampa’s collapse down the stretch. The Bucs went 2-7 to close the year, and even a 3-6 finish would have been enough to secure a fifth straight division title.
Instead, the Panthers walked away with the crown.
Whether they can truly hold onto it again may come down to the offense. Bryce Young took a step forward in his third season, throwing for 3,011 yards with 23 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
Rookie receiver Tetairoa McMillan also flashed right away, posting 1,014 yards, seven touchdowns and 70 catches. Even with that progress, Carolina’s offense was still one of the league’s weakest in 2025, averaging 18.3 points per game - sixth fewest in the NFL and second fewest in the NFC.
So the Panthers attacked the offensive line in the offseason, bringing in Luke Frotner at center, Stone Forsythe at offensive tackle and Rasheed Walker at left tackle, each on one-year deals.
Defense, though, is where Carolina really spent. The Panthers were better on that side last season, finishing 15th in scoring defense at 22.4 points per game, and they made two major additions in free agency: Devin Lloyd on a three-year, $45 million deal and Jalen Phillips on a four-year, $120 million contract.
Lloyd arrives as an All-Pro linebacker from Jacksonville. Phillips hasn’t reached that level yet, but he’s already one of the league’s most disruptive edge rushers.
He finished fifth in the NFL in QB pressure rate last season at 15.9 percent, according to Pro Football Focus, and his 73 total pressures ranked ninth among 115 edge rushers. That kind of impact matters for a Panthers defense that finished with the third-fewest sacks in the league and a team pressure rate of just 26.2 percent.
That’s why this matchup matters. Tampa Bay is trying to take back control of the division.
Carolina is trying to prove last year wasn’t a one-off. And with the Bucs heading to Charlotte for their first divisional game of the season, the stakes are already real.
In Other News...
Buccaneers Suddenly Look Stuck Between Baker And Their Next Quarterback
The Buccaneers are heading into training camp with Baker Mayfield still in place, but without the kind of contract resolution that would quiet the long-term questions around the position. Talks have stalled with a deadline looming at the start of camp, and while Mayfield is still expected to be Tampa Bays starter in 2026, the bigger picture remains unsettled for a team trying to balance present stability with future planning.
That uncertainty is why the quarterback conversation around Tampa Bay has started to widen beyond Mayfield. The Bucs have been tied in speculation to a possible trade for Clevelands Shedeur Sanders as a developmental option or eventual successor, though nothing official has been reported. For now, it leaves Tampa Bay in a familiar but uncomfortable spot, trying to hold the line with its current starter while also keeping an eye on what comes next. [Read more 🡒]
Todd Bowles Suddenly Faces A Defining Season In Tampa Bay
Todd Bowles enters the 2026 season with the kind of pressure that tends to come quickly in the NFL, especially for a coach who has already had to keep Tampa Bay competitive through a changing roster and rising expectations. The Buccaneers have been one of the steadier teams in the NFC in recent years, but the standard in Tampa Bay is no longer just staying relevant, it is turning that stability into another playoff run.
The warning signs are hard to ignore after a disappointing 2025 campaign, when the Buccaneers fell short of the postseason for the first time since Tom Bradys final season. Bowles also has to answer for a defense that did not live up to the investment made on that side of the ball, and with the leagues coaching carousel always moving, another uneven year could make this a defining stretch for his tenure. [Read more 🡒]
Bucs Draft Class Is Earning Serious Respect Before Camp Begins
Before training camp even opens, the Buccaneers 2026 draft class is already drawing a little more national attention than most rookie hauls do this time of year. Sports Illustrated recently slotted Tampa Bay at No. 8 in its re-ranking of the class, with first-round edge rusher Rueben Bain Jr., third-round receiver Ted Hurst III and fourth-round defensive back Keionte Scott doing the heavy lifting in that early praise.
Bain gives the group its headline appeal after a college career built on relentless disruption, while Scott and Hurst look like the kind of mid-round additions that can push for real roles if they translate cleanly to the next level. Tampa Bay also added Josiah Trotter, DeMonte Capehart, Billy Schrauth and Bauer Sharp, but the full shape of this class will not really come into focus until camp starts sorting out who is ready to contribute right away and who still needs time. [Read more 🡒]