Week 5 ended with the Buccaneers standing alone in the NFC South as the division’s only team to pick up a win, and that says plenty about how messy this race has become.
Tampa Bay’s start to 2026 has been rough, and the injuries have kept stacking up, but the door is still open in the division. The Bucs are not surging, not yet anyway, but they’re hanging around in a landscape where nobody has broken away after five weeks. There’s also a chance Baker Mayfield is close to coming back, which only adds to the feeling that Tampa Bay still has a pulse in this thing.
That matters because the rest of the division didn’t exactly help itself.
Carolina entered the week at 2-2 and stayed there on a bye, which was enough to keep the Panthers tied for first with Atlanta. They also caught a break from a wild finish elsewhere.
Philadelphia looked like it had stolen a last-second win against Jacksonville, taking the lead with 8 seconds left, but the Eagles chose to kick to a Jaguars team with no timeout. A long return flipped the field, and Jacksonville ended up setting up the game-winning field goal.
The Eagles are going to be angry about that one, and Carolina may be next in line to deal with the fallout when the Panthers head to Philadelphia.
New Orleans, meanwhile, fell to 1-4 after losing to Minnesota. Before kickoff, a rumor was making the rounds on social media that a flu-like bug had swept through the Saints’ locker room and left a number of players sick for the game.
Whether that was true or not, the way they played sure looked like a team dealing with something. They scored only 13 points against a Vikings defense that thrives on blitzing, and that number stood out even more because the Dolphins - still winless - managed 10 against that same unit and had chances for more.
That performance dropped the Saints below Tampa Bay in the division. It was a bad look for a team plenty of people thought might lead the NFC South.
Atlanta is still sitting at 2-2 after its loss to Baltimore, but that result came with a twist. The Falcons were dealing with Tyler Huntley at quarterback, not Lamar Jackson, yet still found a way to put themselves in position to win.
Derrick Henry being Derrick Henry didn’t help, and Atlanta also had to watch Michael Penix Jr. leave again. He went down on the final drive of regulation with a rib injury that’s not expected to be too serious.
That sent Tua Tagovailoa into the game in overtime after Baltimore scored the go-ahead touchdown. His first throw was a sharp completion over the middle to move the chains and improve field position. His second was a throwback Tua moment: a play that should have been completed but instead turned into an interception because he put the ball right to a defender who wasn’t even covering the target.
For Atlanta, the warning lights are obvious. If Penix misses time for any reason, the chances of the Falcons grabbing control of the division look slim. They may be on top right now, but that edge only lasts if Penix is the one running the offense.
In Other News...
Jalon Daniels Showed The Bucs Something They May Need Soon
Jalon Daniels gave Tampa Bay a look it may not be able to ignore for long against Dallas, and it started with the kind of poise and movement the Buccaneers have spent plenty of time valuing at quarterback. On his first offensive drive, Daniels showed situational awareness, used his mobility to stay on schedule and helped drive the offense with several sharp decisions, while offensive coordinator Zac Robinson was credited with making effective play calls and adjustments that kept the Cowboys off balance.
The deeper takeaway for the Bucs is that Daniels did more than just manage the series, he flashed the sort of improvisational ability that can change a game when the structure breaks down. He also connected on a huge downfield play with Tez Johnson, underscoring why Tampa Bay may eventually want that kind of threat available as the season moves along, even if the full picture of how far that can go remains to be seen. [Read more 🡒]
Buccaneers Fans Already Knew Mike Evans Still Had This In Him
Mike Evans leaving for San Francisco was one of the bigger offseason jolts for Buccaneers fans, but it has not taken long for him to remind everyone why he was such a fixture in Tampa Bay. The veteran wideout has quickly settled in as a reliable target for Brock Purdy, bringing the same steady production and physical edge that made him so valuable for the Buccaneers over the years.
The more striking part has been how he has done it while clearly dealing with some wear and tear. Evans kept producing in Week 5 and has stayed right in the middle of the 49ers' passing game through the first month-plus of the season, showing that his game still travels even after the change of scenery. For Tampa Bay, it is another reminder that the receiver they once built around still has plenty left in the tank. [Read more 🡒]
Buccaneers Just Found What Could Steady This Season
Through the Buccaneers first four games of the 2026 season, the offense had been fighting itself as much as any opponent, with questions hanging over both the quarterback play and the protection in front of him. Then came a cleaner showing up front against Dallas, the kind of performance that can make an entire operation look more stable in a hurry.
The offensive line held up far better in that game, giving rookie quarterback Jalon Daniels room to work and opening the door for Bucky Irving to find room as a runner. For a Tampa Bay team that had been searching for something to settle the unit, the improvement up front stood out as the clearest reason the offense looked more like itself. [Read more 🡒]