One-third of the 2025 NFL season is somehow already over, and as the next third begins, the 5-1 Bucs find themselves with a target on their backs. After all, through six weeks of the season, they’re the No. 1 team in the NFC.
After their 38-35 win over the Seahawks in Seattle, it was clear the Buccaneers were putting themselves in a position where they could be included among the elite teams in the NFC for the time being. But as big as that win was, the then 4-1 49ers – a constant thorn in their side over the last three years – were looming in Week 6. And after that, there was a trip to face the then 4-1 Lions.
Well, Week 6 came and went and now, Tampa Bay isn’t just up there with the top teams in the conference – it is the top team in the conference. At 5-1 after a 30-19 win over the 49ers, the Bucs have the NFC’s best record heading into mid-October thanks to beating the 49ers and the Sunday night loss by the Lions to the Chiefs.
That’s right, Todd Bowles and Co. are in pole position for the No. 1 seed in the NFC thanks to their first win over San Francisco since 2018, as well as other results around the league. There are still 12 weeks left in the season, and that’s a message being drilled into the entire locker room right now. But there’s still room to appreciate that despite their injury crisis, the Bucs are on the right track toward not just their fifth straight NFC South title but better seeding than they’ve had in recent years.
Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
The Panthers’ 30-27 win over the Cowboys on Sunday afternoon and the Falcons’ 24-14 win over the Bills on Monday Night Football meant the Bucs’ win didn’t create any further separation in the NFC South race, other than the game they gained on the cellar-dwelling Saints. Nonetheless, the four-time defending division champions still lead the way in the division race by 1.5 games.
NFC South Standings Through Week 6
Tampa Bay Buccaneers – 5-1 (1-0 in NFC South)
Atlanta Falcons – 3-2 (0-2 in NFC South)
Carolina Panthers – 3-3 (1-0 in NFC South)
New Orleans Saints – 1-5 (0-0 in NFC South)
As far as the rest of the NFC landscape, the other three division leaders coming into the week lost their Week 6 contests. The defending Super Bowl champion Eagles lost to the Giants, 34-17, on Thursday Night Football to drop to 4-2. The 49ers obviously dropped to 4-2 with their loss to the Bucs, and on Sunday night, the Lions lost 30-17 to the Chiefs to drop to 4-2 themselves.
With all of that, here’s how the NFC playoff picture looks through six weeks of play.
NFC Standings Through Week 6
1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – 5-1
2. Green Bay Packers – 3-1-1
3. San Francisco 49ers – 4-2 (holds win percentage vs. conference opponents tiebreaker over Eagles)
4. Philadelphia Eagles – 4-2
5. Seattle Seahawks – 4-2 (holds strength of victory tiebreaker over Lions, division tiebreaker was initially used to eliminate Rams – Seattle has the tiebreaker over Los Angeles based on win percentage in divisional games)
6. Detroit Lions – 4-2
7. Los Angeles Rams –4-2
Not only are the Bucs the NFC’s only 5-1 team, but they’re one of only two 5-1 teams in the entire NFL, with the AFC South-leading Colts joining them atop the league.
Bucs On Track For Their Most Successful October Under Todd Bowles
The Bucs had to be happy with their 3-1 September, but the reality was that they’d been there before. The problem in recent years under head coach Todd Bowles has been midseason slides, which have begun in the month of October.
In 2022, Bowles’ first year as the team’s head coach, Tampa Bay went 1-4 in October. The following year, which was the first year of the Baker Mayfield era, the Bucs went 1-3 in October. And then a year ago, they once again went 1-3 in October.
So, this is a team that was 3-10 in the month of October under Bowles coming into this month. And two weeks in against two tough NFC teams with playoff aspirations, the Bucs are 2-0.
Bucs QB Baker Mayfield and HC Todd Bowles – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
So really, Tampa Bay’s two wins in October are already a new high in the Bowles era. And even with losses in the next two weeks, a .500 mark in the month would still be the best winning percentage during Spooky Season in years. But with the way the Bucs are playing, they’ll love their chances to get to 3-0 with a win over the Lions on Monday Night Football and then finish October a perfect 4-0 with a win over the Saints in Week 8.
Even splitting the next two games would put them at 3-1 in the month and 6-2 heading into their bye week, which would be a huge win considering their recent history of midseason struggles. Coming into the year, one of the key goals for Bowles and his team was to avoid that slide in the middle of the year.
Already, this October is looking more like the team’s 4-1 October in 2021 and its 3-1 October in 2020. And that’s good news. Because the Bucs want to not only win the division for a fifth straight year in 2025 – they want to wrap it up before Week 17 or Week 18. And they not only want to be in the playoffs, but they’d love to be seeded higher than their No. 4 seeds in 2022 and 2023 and their No. 3 seed last year. The No. 2 seed or ideally the No. 1 seed – which comes with a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs – would definitely be sweet.
So far, so good for the NFC-leading Bucs. A trip to face the 4-2 Lions in primetime is next.