Before the season started, the Panthers were a consensus pick to win the NFC South and maybe even win the whole NFC and go to the Superbowl. But are we ready to rule out Jameis Winston and his Bucs?
First of all, Carolina really didn’t look bad against Denver, but they weren’t impressive at all. They should still be the favorites to win NFC South, but they should be fearful of Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Jameis Winston and the Bucs handled the Falcons in Atlanta, their division rivals and have looked really good while doing that. In just his 2nd season, Winston looks mature, he made a lot of great decisions and made some spectacular throws with the best being his 45-yard bomb to Mike Evans for the Touchdown. His 30-yard TD completion with Seferian-Jenkins was also really impressive.
Jameis finished the game with 23 completed passes for 281 yards and 4 TDs and only one 1 INT. Falcons’ defense is not one of the best in the NFL, but it is really special to see a sophomore Quarterback being a vocal leader on the field as well as being in total command of his offense.
At the end it was a 31:24 for the Bucs and now they are the only team in their division that has won a game. Panthers suffered a loss to Denver in Super Bowl rematch; Saints dropped the game to Raiders after leading the entire match, and Falcons were Bucs’ victims in Week 1. Can they retain the lead in their division? It is a long shot, but it’s a shot nonetheless.
