The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have endured a miserable start to the 2026 NFL season, losing five of their first seven games. Yet after a dominant Week 7 win over Carolina and another Panthers loss Thursday night, Tampa Bay can move within half a game of first in the NFC South.

The Buccaneers improved to 2-5 with Sunday's 43-13 victory over Carolina, their first divisional matchup of the season. The Panthers followed that defeat with a 27-19 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Thursday Night Football, dropping to 3-4 and opening the door for Tampa Bay ahead of Sunday's matchup with Atlanta.

Carolina's struggles also prompted a coaching change. According to the Panthers' official announcement, head coach Dave Canales fired defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero and defensive passing game coordinator Jonathan Cooley on Friday. Defensive line coach Todd Wash was named interim defensive coordinator and will assume play-calling responsibilities.

The Panthers allowed 70 points in their consecutive losses to Tampa Bay and Green Bay. Carolina has surrendered 27.6 points per game this season, ranking 27th in the NFL, and now faces the challenge of correcting its defense while trying to maintain its division lead.

Entering Sunday's games, Carolina and Atlanta are tied at 3-4 atop the NFC South, followed by Tampa Bay and New Orleans at 2-5. A Buccaneers victory over the Falcons would improve their record to 3-5 while dropping Atlanta to the same mark. Tampa Bay would move into second place thanks to its head-to-head win and sit just half a game behind Carolina.

More importantly, the Buccaneers would improve to 2-0 against NFC South opponents after starting the season 1-5. They already hold a head-to-head victory over Carolina and could add another against Atlanta, giving them an early advantage in potential divisional tiebreakers.

Tampa Bay's overall record remains difficult to overlook, but the NFC South has given few teams with five losses this early in the season this chance. No team in the division currently has a winning record, and the Buccaneers still have five divisional games remaining.

Sunday's matchup against Atlanta is an opportunity to turn a promising result against Carolina into something more meaningful. A win wouldn't erase Tampa Bay's early struggles, but it would put the Buccaneers within striking distance of the division lead with nine games left.