In typical NFC South fashion, the division title came down to the final moments of the regular season.
And in the end, it was the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last standing.
The Buccaneers defeated the New Orleans Saints 27-19 despite a sluggish first half to win the division for the fourth consecutive season.
Tampa Bay trailed 16-6 at halftime but quarterback Baker Mayfield connected with receiver Jalen McMillan, who made a spectacular catch in the end zone with 10:09 to play for a go-ahead, 32-yard touchdown. Rookie running back Bucky Irving provided some breathing room with an 11-yard touchdown rush on the first play out of the two-minute warning.
The Buccaneers capped the win off by getting Mike Evans a 9-yard gain to put him over 1,000 yards for the season, tying him with Hall of Famer Jerry Rice for the most consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons (11).
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The Falcons needed a Buccaneers loss and to win their own contest against the Carolina Panthers, which went to overtime as the Tampa Bay game finished. With no path to the playoffs once the Buccaneers’ result was finalized, the Falcons fell to the Panthers 44-38.
Atlanta, before making the change from Kirk Cousins to Michael Penix Jr. late in the season, defeated the Buccaneers in a pair of one-score contests in October to hold the tiebreaker for the division title. That didn’t end up mattering, however, as the Falcons faltered down the stretch, including in a Week 17 overtime loss against the Washington Commanders that returned Tampa Bay to the top of the division standings.
