Part of the reason the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been able to dominate the NFC South in the Baker Mayfield era has been the rest of the division's incompetence. The Carolina Panthers floundered under the leadership of Bryce Young in the last two seasons, though things have turned around in 2025.
Carolina is providing a worthy challenge to Tampa Bay, and Young is playing the best ball of his career. However, the Panthers' front office might be so entranced by this season that they make a move that will all but assuredly end in disaster for the Bucs' divisional rival.