Falcons face Bucs, aim for division lead

TAMPA, Fla. — The surest path to the NFL playoffs is a division championship, which isn’t a far-fetched goal these days if you’re part of the NFC South.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers won it with a losing record last season, and at 3-2 so far this fall, the first-place Bucs haven’t exactly been a juggernaut in building the slender division lead they’ll carry into Sunday’s home game against the Atlanta Falcons (3-3), one of their NFC South rivals.

The season, obviously, is still young. Nevertheless, it’s an opportunity to get an early leg up on potential tiebreaker scenarios in a race that could go down to the wire.

“That’s important,” Bucs receiver Mike Evans said. “Last year, we had the opportunity to gain some ground early in the season, and we didn’t do it. This would be a great time to take control.”

Tampa Bay, which won the division the past two seasons with seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady leading the way from behind center, holds a half-game lead over the Falcons despite sputtering offensively while losing two of its past three games.

The Falcons and young quarterback Desmond Ridder have dropped three of four games since a 2-0 start, including a mistake-filled, eight-point home loss to the Washington Commanders last week.

Atlanta has posted losing records in five consecutive seasons since its most playoff appearance in 2017. Third-year Falcons coach Arthur Smith said the path to ending the drought goes through Tampa Bay.

“That’s the only way you guarantee yourself the postseason, by winning the division. … Tampa has been the one at the top of the division,” Smith said. “It’s going to be a big game for us, a big game for them. … We understand the significance.”

Baker Mayfield has replaced Brady at quarterback for the Bucs, who are aiming to rebound from a 20-6 loss to the Detroit Lions that coach Todd Bowles described as a “clunker.” Tampa Bay was held to two field goals and didn’t surpass 200 yards of offense until the closing minutes of the game.

“This game is bigger … because it is a division game, obviously. They’re fighting for first, we’re fighting for first, New Orleans is fighting for first,” Bowles said. “It’s early on, but any time you get a divisional game you want to win it.”

The Saints fell to 3-4 with Thursday night’s home loss to the AFC South’s Jacksonville Jaguars. The NFC South’s other team is the Carolina Panthers, who at 0-6 have already left behind even in this division.

Mayfield agreed with his coach about the opportunity this weekend presents.

“All of our goals are in front of us. It starts big picture-wise. You have to win your division first to get where you want to go. We’re still in control of our destiny when it comes to that,” the first-year Tampa Bay quarterback said. “We’re not hitting the panic button. We know we can play better, and that’s the good thing.”