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Game Of Throws: Will Bucs continue NFC South dominance?

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 There’s no debate about the greatest quarterback in the history of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Sure, he might have only been there three seasons. Still, the numbers don’t lie.

From 2008 through 2019, the Buccaneers finished with a double-digit win total once – they went 10-6 in 2010.

Tampa Bay failed to make the playoffs 12 years in a row. Then in 2020, the Buccaneers signed Tom Brady. In their first year with Brady, Tampa Bay transformed from an afterthought at 7-9 to Super Bowl champions.

The Buccaneers have won five straight NFC South titles – three with Brady and the last two with Baker Mayfield. Entering their third season with Mayfield as the starter, Tampa Bay is the NFC South favourite once again at -110.

 

Per the FanDuel traders, 87 per cent of the bets are on the Buccaneers to go over 9.5 regular season wins.

65 per cent of the bets on the NFC South winner are on Tampa Bay to repeat as division champions.

Of course, the lingering question remains whether Mayfield can continue to produce at a high level after offensive coordinator Liam Coen left to become the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Buccaneers ranked top five in both scoring and passing yards per game with Coen calling the plays. The good news is Tampa Bay promoted passing game coordinator Josh Grizzard to OC to maintain a sense of continuity for the air attack.

They also drafted Emeka Egbuka with the 19th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.

With Mike Evans entering a contract year, Chris Godwin ahead of schedule in his return from injury, and Egbuka arriving as the future No. 1 wide receiver, the Bucs have the talent to put up big numbers through the air again.

Factor in the emergence of running back Bucky Irving, who led all rookies with 1,122 rushing yards despite being brought along slowly in his first year, and all signs point towards the offence picking up where it left off.

The Buccaneers were strong against the run again last season but struggled against the pass, so it will be interesting to see what kind of progress they make with some new additions under Bowles.

With a front-loaded schedule that features game at the Atlanta Falcons, at the Houston Texans, home against the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, at the Seattle Seahawks, home against the San Francisco 49ers, then at the Detroit Lions in the first seven weeks, a fast start will be critical for Tampa Bay.

A Week 3 home game against the New York Jets appears to be their only real break the first seven weeks and the fact that it’s coming off back-to-back road games and the week before hosting the Eagles doesn’t help.

While there is reason to be excited about Evans, Godwin, Egbuka, and Irving all lining up together, the defence is still a concern that could hold this team back.

Entering his third season as the starter in Tampa Bay, it will be on Mayfield to overcome the loss of Coen and lead the Buccaneers to a sixth straight division title.

Of course, we’ll never underestimate the impact that a quality play-caller can have on an offence.

As for a FanDuel Best Bet, I’ll go with the Buccaneers to win the NFC South once again at -110.

Tampa Bay has dominated this division since Brady’s arrival, and while this team has some obvious holes, there’s enough talent to hold off the Falcons atop the division standings if they stay healthy.

I’ll stick with the Buccaneers to win the NFC South.