The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have won the NFC South the last three times.
At 3-1, they once again lead the division and can improve when they face their closest rivals (2-2 Atlanta Falcons and 2-2 New Orleans Saints) in Weeks 5 and 6 Advantages.
But since the wild-card Buccaneers won the Super Bowl at the end of the 2020 season, no team in the NFC South has advanced past the divisional round of the playoffs.
With wins in Atlanta on Thursday night and in New Orleans 10 days later, Tampa Bay can become one of the NFC's top early contenders. But losing a game or two creates the mediocre stalemate that has characterized the division in recent seasons.
The Carolina Panthers appear to be facing an ongoing rebuilding project at 1-3 after going 2-15 a year ago and last making the playoffs in 2017. The Eagles and the Saints, who last made the playoffs in 2020, made big moves in the offseason designed to help them beat the Buccaneers and become contenders.
But so far, the results have been average.
Both teams have hired highly regarded assistants as offensive coordinators, with Atlanta hiring former Rams quarterbacks coach/pass passing coordinator Zach Robinson and New Orleans bringing in former 49ers offensive passing specialist G. Lint Kubiak.
The Falcons, who finished 7-10 last season and were two games behind the second-place Saints, signed free agent quarterback Kirk Cousins to help first-year head coach Raheem Morris. signed a four-year contract worth $180 million.
But Atlanta has lost two of its first three games by averaging less than 17 points per game and did not score an offensive touchdown despite beating the Saints 26-24 last Sunday.
New Orleans has been as impressive as any team in the NFL through the first two weeks, beating the Panthers 47-10 and the Cowboys 44-10 before losing to Atlanta at home. Lost to the Eagles 15-12. The Saints will take on the undefeated Super Bowl champion Chiefs on the road on Monday night. They outscored their opponents 127-70, tying the undefeated Vikings for the NFL's largest scoring advantage, but they only… Achieved a break-even record (and lost one game during the tournament).
As for the Buccaneers, they defeated the Eagles 33-16 and notched two other impressive wins, leaving the surprising Commanders (37-20) and Lions (20-16) as their only of failure.
But two weeks ago Broncos ease against Tampa Bay at home 26-7.
The upcoming back-to-back divisional road games will be a good measuring stick for the Buccaneers, with their game in Detroit being their only road game.
Teams considered contenders like the Cowboys, Eagles, Packers, 49ers and Rams got off to slow starts, while the Commanders, Vikings and Seahawks appeared to be stronger competition than generally expected who.
Meanwhile, in the NFC South, continued mediocrity is the only label attached until someone proves otherwise.