Sportsbooks: NFC South Most Competitive
May 17th, 2026
“Ed, we have enough NFC South division title T-shirts in our closets. Time for something better.”
Sometimes, the jokes write themselves.
And while in the long run, this isn’t a laughing matter, it did provide Joe with a good chuckle while nursing a cold beer yesterday afternoon.
Per Jenna Laine of ESPN, it seems our friends in the desert consider the NFC South as the most competitive division in the NFL “based on sheer betting odds.”
… … with every team having odds under +500 to win the division. But per DraftKings Sportsbook, the defending-champion Panthers aren’t favored. The Bucs are at +165, and then it’s the Saints (+265), Panthers (+300) and Falcons (+450).
Well, “competitive” is one word to describe it.
Two of the last four NFC South champions captured the division with losing records: the Bucs and the Stinking Panthers. That’s not something to brag about.
This is why Bucs fans get irked when the Bucs crow how the team has beaten the beasts of the NFC South under Todd Bowles. The Bucs have won a grand total of two playoff games the past five seasons.
(During the throes of The Lost Decade, one playoff win seemed like manna from heaven.)
While Joe understands division titles are huge for organizations (home games mean a ton of revenue and that gets smiles from team owners) fans consider quick playoff exits an ugly rut. Cap and T-shirt games are nice but they’re a stepping stone to bigger and better things, not a long-term accomplishment.
Can the Bucs snap out of this rut and win playoff games? That’s what Bucs fans want.