The NFC South was one of the NFL’s great divisions in 2017. Three of four teams made the playoffs—the Buccaneers were still basement dwellers at this point—and all three had double digit wins. Led by franchise signal callers and powered by quality rosters, the Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, and New Orleans Saints figured to be in the mix among the NFC’s better teams for at least the short-term.
Instead, they fell off one-by-one, with the Saints the last team to truly give up that dream. The Buccaneers experienced a brie Tom Brady-led renaissance, but the 2022 season was a sobering one for a once-proud division.