It’s a new season, which means new beginnings for all 32 teams across the NFL. It’s a clean slate, and as a result, reputations can be remade. At least, that’s the case for most teams – and most divisions. Maybe it’s not true for the NFC South.

It’s only been one Sunday of football, and there will be 17 more in the NFL’s regular season. But one week into this new season, it feels like this might be the same ol’ NFC South. Every single team in the division lost its Week 1 game, making for a very sad (but funny?) sight in the division standings.

Despite analysts around the NFL world picking the Panthers or Saints to win what has been the NFL’s weakest division for several years now, it’s the Bucs who are the betting favorites to return to the top of the NFC South and win it for the fifth time in the last six seasons.

But Tampa Bay got out to a losing start in Cincinnati on Sunday, with four turnovers – including three fumbles by quarterback Baker Mayfield – leading to 24 points for the Bengals. In the end, the Bucs lost 33-27 to start 0-1 for the first time since 2020.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: IMAGN Images via Reuters Connect

Elsewhere in the division, the defending NFC South champion Panthers were locked into a fight with the defending NFC North champion Bears for much of the day. It was 31-31 in the third quarter, but the Bears went on to win 59-37. With that, Carolina fell to 0-1.

The Saints ended up coming the closest to helping the NFC South avoid a winless Week 1, but they couldn’t get the job done in the end. Tyler Shough threw two interceptions and fumbled once early on to put New Orleans in a 21-0 hole. The second-year quarterback did lead the team back and forced overtime, and after the Lions scored first in overtime to go up 31-24, the Saints went down the field and responded with a touchdown. But a failed two-point try was the difference as Kellen Moore’s team lost 31-30 for an 0-1 start to the year.

The Falcons were up against it before the game even began, as their quarterback situation was even more of a mess than it was supposed to be. Even with a healthy Michael Penix Jr. and Tua Tagovailoa, Atlanta doesn’t exactly have it all together at the most important position on the field. So, with both guys out for Sunday’s game, things were even more dire. In Kevin Stefanski’s first game as Atlanta’s head coach, he had to roll with Cooper Rush as his starting quarterback. And this was a day after Rush was dealing with back spasms himself.

Ultimately, Bijan Robinson couldn’t do it all on his own. The Falcons were held to a 2-of-12 mark on third downs and Rush was intercepted twice as Stefanski and Co. lost 20-13 to the Steelers.

So, yes. It was an 0-4 day for the NFC South, which figures to be football’s worst division once again in 2026.

Was It All Bad For The NFC South In Week 1?

Just as it wasn’t all bad for the Bucs in their 33-27 loss to the Bengals, it wasn’t all bad for the NFC South in Week 1, either.

Starting with Tampa Bay, there’s the fact that despite those four turnovers, it was a one-score loss in which the team had a fighting chance going into the fourth quarter. Emeka Egbuka stepped up and made plays. Bucky Irving ran the ball well. The Bucs’ seemingly questionable secondary played well and held all-world receiver Ja’Marr Chase in check. Chase McLaughlin is still money. And Josiah Trotter announced his presence with a sack and a pick-six in his NFL debut.

Bucs ILB Josiah Trotter – Photo by: IMAGN Images via Reuters Connect

The Bucs lost. The four fumbles and a no-show from their revamped pass rush were disappointing. And it’s disappointing to be 0-1. But even after everything, Tampa Bay lost to a good Cincinnati team on the road by six. There’s plenty to fix going into Week 2, but fix what’s fixable and there’s still plenty of success to be had the rest of the way for Todd Bowles and Co.

Elsewhere in the NFC South, there were positives as well.

The Panthers did well to erase a 21-7 deficit and battle the Bears to a 31-31 tie before things fell apart. Bryce Young threw for 361 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another.

The Saints overcame a 21-0 deficit in the second half on the road and against the Lions to come one play away from stealing a win in overtime. Tyler Shough turned the ball over three times, but he threw three touchdowns and looked exceptionally poised late in that game.

And even the Falcons – the utterly dysfunctional Falcons – lost a one-score road game to a solid Steelers team. Bijan Robinson finished with 173 total yards and a touchdown, while the Atlanta defense only gave up 13 points on the day. Save for a T.J. Watt pick-six off Cooper Rush, the Falcons may have been right there with a chance to start 1-0 themselves.

So, yes, the NFC South is still likely to be one of the worst divisions in the NFL this year, and Week 1 did nothing for it other than reaffirm its status as a meme/joke to the rest of the league. But each team will have taken something – and in some cases, plenty – away from Week 1 that will build up some confidence that it can be them standing atop the division in January.

In other words, we all could be witnesses to another year of this…