12. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 2-5
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers got back in track in Week 7 with Baker Mayfield's first game back in a few weeks thanks to his dislocated thumb. Mayfield didn't even hit 100 passing yards, but the Buccaneers blew out Carolina.
Still only 2-5 on the season, one lopsided, outlier-type of a win does not change the big picture for this franchise - they have lost way more than they have won since the middle of the 2025 season, and it's not getting any different here in 2026.
Head coach Todd Bowles simply does not appear to be the coach to keep leading this team, and unless Tampa can go on a run here over the next few weeks, it's hard to imagine how he survives on the job.
The Bucs, like other losing teams, don't really do anything consistently well. Sure, they can be frisky from time to time, and Mayfield is a really efficient QB when he gets hot, but the Bucs not only don't appear to be a playoff team, but they also appear to be a team heading toward a rebuild.
Tampa is outside the top-10 in our latest NFC rankings. They have way more questions than answers at this point.
11. Carolina Panthers, 3-3
The Carolina Panthers got blown out by Tampa Bay in Week 7 right after winning two really solid games in a row. This franchise is stuck in the mud, to be honest. They're now 11-11 in Bryce Young's starts since the start of 2025 and just refuse to be anything more than mediocre. At some point, we have to stop talking about Young and the Panthers with the training wheels on and begin to be more serious - this team is not close to a contender, were bad last year, and are bad this year.
That's the truth. There isn't much to like with this team, and while Young has played a lot better these past two seasons than his first two, he's still largely been an average QB during this period. The Panthers are far from a team worth taking seriously at this stage of the 2026 season.
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