The Tampa Bay Buccaneers missed their first chance to clinch the NFC South, but they have another opportunity to make it happen on Sunday.
Should the Bucs win against the Carolina Panthers in Week 18, they’ll clinch the division and go to the playoffs as the No. 4 seed. Lose that game, however, and they are eliminated — at that point, the winner of the matchup between the New Orleans Saints and the Atlanta Falcons would be crowned the champion of the NFC South. There are a bunch of other scenarios that occur with ties, but we’ll keep it simple for right now.
Here’s what the NFC South looks like heading into Week 18:
| Team | W | L | T | Win% | PF | PA | Home | Away | Strk |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 339 | 325 | 4-4 | 4-4 | L1 |
| New Orleans Saints | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 354 | 310 | 4-3 | 45 | W1 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 304 | 325 | 5-3 | 2-6 | L1 |
| Carolina Panthers | 2 | 14 | 0 | .125 | 236 | 407 | 2-5 | 0-9 | L2 |
And here is how the NFC South’s games shaped out in Week 17: