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.