The Tampa Bay Buccaneers sit atop the NFC South as the obvious choice as the best team in the division.

Who would've thought that would be the case after a quarter of the season a few months ago?

As much as it may be a surprise that the reloading Bucs are so much better than their competition, one of the bigger storylines has been just how bad the rest of the division has been. Even when the Buccaneers don't look good, the rest of the division is so bad that it just doesn't matter.

The NFC South outside of the Buccaneers is a mess. 

The Falcons came into the year with a lot of hype and some buzz that Arthur Smith was going to be a Coach of the Year candidate. Now they have no passing attack and their rush is half of what it used to be. 

The Panthers have a rookie quarterback that has no weapons and no protection. Enough said.

Lastly, the Saints are quickly approaching one of the worst cap situations in the NFL with their future tied to a middling quarterback and a terrible head coach.

The NFC South is falling apart. Just look at the recent games for the Saints, Falcons, and Panthers. Gross. Messy. Not every team can handle a rebuild as the Buccaneers currently are.

Despite missing out on Tom Brady, suffering injuries, and paying up on void years and contracts that were back-weighted to go all-in and win, the Buccaneers have dominated in more than half of their games and are set up to 1) make the playoffs in 2023 and 2) get much better in 2024 with far more money in hand.

Again, the situation in Tampa has played out in a way that many people never expected. This is probably the best way this could've gone for the Bucs, and recent results by their opponents seem to suggest that it will only get better for Tampa before it ever seems to get worse.

Buccaneers have perfect opportunity to get right vs. Falcons

This is as good a chance as any.