NFC South

One of four divisions in the NFL's National Football Conference From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The National Football Conference – Southern Division or NFC South is one of the four divisions of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). It was created before the 2002 NFL season when the league realigned divisions after expanding to 32 teams. The NFC South currently has four member clubs: the Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Quick Facts Conference, League ...
NFC South
ConferenceNational Football Conference
LeagueNational Football League
SportAmerican football
Founded2002
No. of teams4
CountryUnited States
Most recent
champion(s)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7th title)
Most titlesNew Orleans Saints
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7 titles each)
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250km
155miles
Saints
Panthers
Falcons
Buccaneers
NFC South Teams Location

Before the 2002 season, the Buccaneers belonged to the AFC West (1976) and NFC Central (19772001) (with their four division rivals in the Upper Midwest), while the other three teams were part of the geographically inaccurate NFC West.

The NFC South is one of two divisions to have each of its teams make a Super Bowl appearance since the 2002 realignment (along with the NFC West): Tampa Bay (2002 and 2020), Atlanta (2016), Carolina (2003 and 2015) and New Orleans (2009). Also since 2002, each team has won at least four division titles, making it the only division that holds that distinction. On January 3, 2021, the Saints became the first-ever team to sweep the NFC South in the regular season, they nevertheless lost to the Buccaneers (eventual Super Bowl champions) in the playoffs.

Entering 2019, the Saints have the most wins among division members. The Saints' record is 375–438–5; their win in Super Bowl XLIV is the highlight of a 10–12 playoff record. The Falcons' record is 365–461–6 with a playoff record of 10–14; the Falcons lost in Super Bowls XXXIII and LI. The Buccaneers' record is 267–424–1 with a victory in both their Super Bowl appearances, Super Bowl XXXVII and Super Bowl LV, and an overall playoff record of 10–9. The Panthers have the best playoff winning percentage (9–8) of any team in the division with losses in Super Bowls XXXVIII and 50, with a regular season record of 195–204–1.

The NFC South is the only NFC division not to have any of the twelve "old-line" franchises that predate the 1960 launch of the American Football League, the NFL's former rival league. The oldest team is the Falcons, who began play in 1966, and the Saints began play only a year later in 1967. Each of the other NFC divisions has three clubs that began play earlier than 1960, while the remaining three such teams are in the American Football Conference.

The NFC South became the second division in five years to have a champion with a losing record, as the 2014 Carolina Panthers won the division with a 7–8–1 record (The 2010 Seattle Seahawks won the NFC West with a 7–9 record). Additionally, Carolina became the first team to repeat as NFC South champions since the creation of the division. The Panthers were the first team to win the NFC South three consecutive times, from 2013 to 2015; while the Saints were the first team to win the division four consecutive times from 2017 to 2020. On January 7, 2018, two NFC South teams (the Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints) met in the NFL playoffs for the first time since the division's creation in 2002. Before then, they were the only division left in the NFL that had never had teams face off against each other in the postseason. In 2024 Tampa Bay Buccaneers tied with the New Orleans Saints for the most division titles, with seven. They also tied with the Saints for most consecutive division titles, with four, and broke the division record of most consecutive playoff appearances, with five.

Division lineups

Place cursor over year for division champ or Super Bowl team.

More information 2000s ...
NFC South Division
2000s
02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Atlanta Falcons
Carolina Panthers
New Orleans Saints
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
  Division Won Super Bowl   Division Won NFC Championship
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Division champions

More information Season, Team ...
SeasonTeamRecordPlayoff Results
2002Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1)12–4Won Divisional playoffs (49ers) 31–6
Won NFC Championship (at Eagles) 27–10
Won Super Bowl XXXVII (vs. Raiders) 48–21
2003Carolina Panthers (1)11–5Won Wild Card playoffs (Cowboys) 29–10
Won Divisional playoffs (at Rams) 29–23 (2OT)
Won NFC Championship (at Eagles) 14–3
Lost Super Bowl XXXVIII (vs. Patriots) 29–32
2004Atlanta Falcons (1)11–5Won Divisional playoffs (Rams) 47–17
Lost NFC Championship (at Eagles) 10–27
2005Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2)11–5Lost Wild Card playoffs (Redskins) 10–17
2006New Orleans Saints (1)10–6Won Divisional playoffs (Eagles) 27–24
Lost NFC Championship (at Bears) 14–39
2007Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3)9–7Lost Wild Card playoffs (Giants) 14–24
2008Carolina Panthers (2)12–4Lost Divisional playoffs (Cardinals) 13–33
2009New Orleans Saints (2)13–3Won Divisional playoffs (Cardinals) 45–14
Won NFC Championship (Vikings) 31–28 (OT)
Won Super Bowl XLIV (vs. Colts) 31–17
2010Atlanta Falcons (2)13–3Lost Divisional playoffs (Packers) 21–48
2011New Orleans Saints (3)13–3Won Wild Card playoffs (Lions) 45–28
Lost Divisional playoffs (at 49ers) 32–36
2012Atlanta Falcons (3)13–3Won Divisional playoffs (Seahawks) 30–28
Lost NFC Championship (49ers) 24–28
2013Carolina Panthers (3)12–4Lost Divisional playoffs (49ers) 10–23
2014Carolina Panthers (4)7–8–1Won Wild Card playoffs (Cardinals) 27–16
Lost Divisional playoffs (at Seahawks) 17–31
2015Carolina Panthers (5)15–1Won Divisional playoffs (Seahawks) 31–24
Won NFC Championship (Cardinals) 49–15
Lost Super Bowl 50 (vs. Broncos) 10–24
2016Atlanta Falcons (4)11–5Won Divisional playoffs (Seahawks) 36–20
Won NFC Championship (Packers) 44–21
Lost Super Bowl LI (vs. Patriots) 28–34 (OT)
2017New Orleans Saints (4)11–5Won Wild Card playoffs (Panthers) 31–26
Lost Divisional playoffs (at Vikings) 24–29
2018New Orleans Saints (5)13–3Won Divisional playoffs (Eagles) 20–14
Lost NFC Championship (Rams) 23–26 (OT)
2019New Orleans Saints (6)13–3Lost Wild Card playoffs (Vikings) 20–26 (OT)
2020New Orleans Saints (7)12–4Won Wild Card playoffs (Bears) 21–9
Lost Divisional playoffs (Buccaneers) 20–30
2021Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4)13–4Won Wild Card playoffs (Eagles) 31–15
Lost Divisional playoffs (Rams) 27–30
2022Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5)8–9Lost Wild Card playoffs (Cowboys) 14–31
2023Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6)9–8Won Wild Card playoffs (Eagles) 32–9
Lost Divisional playoffs (at Lions) 23–31
2024Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7)10–7Lost Wild Card playoffs (Commanders) 20–23
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Wild Card qualifiers

More information Season, Team ...
SeasonTeamRecordPlayoff Results
2002Atlanta Falcons9–6–1Won Wild Card playoffs (at Packers) 27–7
Lost Divisional playoffs (at Eagles) 6–20
2005Carolina Panthers11–5Won Wild Card playoffs (at Giants) 23–0
Won Divisional playoffs (at Bears) 29–21
Lost NFC Championship (at Seahawks) 14–34
2008Atlanta Falcons11–5Lost Wild Card playoffs (at Cardinals) 24–30
2010New Orleans Saints11–5Lost Wild Card playoffs (at Seahawks) 36–41
2011Atlanta Falcons10–6Lost Wild Card playoffs (at Giants) 2–24
2013New Orleans Saints11–5Won Wild Card playoffs (at Eagles) 26–24
Lost Divisional playoffs (at Seahawks) 15–23
2017Carolina Panthers11–5Lost Wild Card playoffs (at Saints) 26–31
Atlanta Falcons10–6Won Wild Card playoffs (at Rams) 26–13
Lost Divisional playoffs (at Eagles) 10–15
2020Tampa Bay Buccaneers11–5Won Wild Card playoffs (at Washington) 31–23
Won Divisional playoffs (at Saints) 30–20
Won NFC Championship (at Packers) 31–26
Won Super Bowl LV (vs. Chiefs) 31–9
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Total Playoff Berths as members of the NFC South

(NFC South records since the division's creation in 2002)

More information Team, Division Titles ...
TeamDivision
Titles
Playoff
Berths
NFC
Championships
Super Bowl
Championships
Atlanta Falcons4820
Carolina Panthers5720
New Orleans Saints7911
Tampa Bay Buccaneers7822
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Season results

Summarize
Perspective
(#) Denotes team that won the Super Bowl
(#) Denotes team that won the NFC Championship
(#) Denotes team that qualified for the NFL Playoffs
More information Season, Team (record) ...
SeasonTeam (record)
1st2nd3rd4th
2002 (2) Tampa Bay (12–4) (6) Atlanta (9–6–1) New Orleans (9–7) Carolina (7–9)
2003 (3) Carolina (11–5) New Orleans (8–8) Tampa Bay (7–9) Atlanta (5–11)
2004 (2) Atlanta (11–5) New Orleans (8–8) Carolina (7–9) Tampa Bay (5–11)
2005 (3) Tampa Bay (11–5) (5) Carolina (11–5) Atlanta (8–8) New Orleans (3–13)
2006 (2) New Orleans (10–6) Carolina (8–8) Atlanta (7–9) Tampa Bay (4–12)
2007 (4) Tampa Bay (9–7) Carolina (7–9) New Orleans (7–9) Atlanta (4–12)
2008 (2) Carolina (12–4) (5) Atlanta (11–5) Tampa Bay (9–7) New Orleans (8–8)
2009 (1) New Orleans (13–3) Atlanta (9–7) Carolina (8–8) Tampa Bay (3–13)
2010 (1) Atlanta (13–3) (5) New Orleans (11–5) Tampa Bay (10–6) Carolina (2–14)
2011 (3) New Orleans (13–3) (5) Atlanta (10–6) Carolina (6–10) Tampa Bay (4–12)
2012 (1) Atlanta (13–3) Carolina (7–9) New Orleans (7–9) Tampa Bay (7–9)
2013 (2) Carolina (12–4) (6) New Orleans (11–5) Atlanta (4–12) Tampa Bay (4–12)
2014 (4) Carolina (7–8–1) New Orleans (7–9) Atlanta (6–10) Tampa Bay (2–14)
2015 (1) Carolina (15–1) Atlanta (8–8) New Orleans (7–9) Tampa Bay (6–10)
2016 (2) Atlanta (11–5) Tampa Bay (9–7) New Orleans (7–9) Carolina (6–10)
2017 (4) New Orleans (11–5) (5) Carolina (11–5) (6) Atlanta (10–6) Tampa Bay (5–11)
2018 (1) New Orleans (13–3) Atlanta (7–9) Carolina (7–9) Tampa Bay (5–11)
2019 (3) New Orleans (13–3) Atlanta (7–9) Tampa Bay (7–9) Carolina (5–11)
2020 (2) New Orleans (12–4) (5) Tampa Bay (11–5) Carolina (5–11) Atlanta (4–12)
2021 (2) Tampa Bay (13–4) New Orleans (9–8) Atlanta (7–10) Carolina (5–12)
2022 (4) Tampa Bay (8–9) Carolina (7–10) New Orleans (7–10) Atlanta (7–10)
2023 (4) Tampa Bay (9–8) New Orleans (9–8) Atlanta (7–10) Carolina (2–15)
2024 (3) Tampa Bay (10–7) Atlanta (8–9) Carolina (5–12) New Orleans (5–12)
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More information Placement at Season End, Atlanta Falcons ...
Number of times each team has finished in each place
Placement at Season End Atlanta Falcons Carolina Panthers New Orleans Saints Tampa Bay Buccaneers
1st 4 (2016) 5 (2015) 7 (2020) 7 (2024)*
2nd 8 (2024)* 6 (2022) 7 (2023) 2 (2020)
3rd 7 (2023) 6 (2024)* 6 (2022) 4 (2019)
4th 4 (2022) 6 (2023) 3 (2024)* 10 (2018)
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Asterisk (*) Denotes Current Year

Schedule rotation

More information Year, Opponents ...
Year Opponents
Interconf. Intraconf. 17th game
2019 2031 AFC South NFC West AFC East
2020 2032 AFC West NFC North AFC North
2021 2033 AFC East NFC East AFC South
2022 2034 AFC North NFC West AFC West
2023 2035 AFC South NFC North AFC East
2024 2036 AFC West NFC East AFC North
2025 2037 AFC East NFC West AFC South
2026 2038 AFC North NFC North AFC West
2027 2039 AFC South NFC East AFC East
2028 2040 AFC West NFC West AFC North
2029 2041 AFC East NFC North AFC South
2030 2042 AFC North NFC East AFC West
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Postseason oddities and facts

  • From 2003 to 2009, the team that placed last in the division the previous year would improve enough to reach the playoffs, usually by winning the division. Tampa Bay almost continued this trend in 2010, stopped only by losing a strength of victory tiebreaker to Green Bay.
    • Carolina finished last in 2002 (7–9) and finished first in 2003 (11–5).
    • Atlanta finished last in 2003 (5–11) and finished first in 2004 (11–5).
    • Tampa Bay finished last in 2004 (5–11) and finished first in 2005 (11–5).
    • New Orleans finished last in 2005 (3–13) and finished first in 2006 (10–6).
    • Tampa Bay finished last in 2006 (4–12) and finished first in 2007 (9–7).
    • Atlanta finished last in 2007 (4–12) and finished second with a wild-card berth in 2008 (11–5).
    • New Orleans finished last in 2008 (8–8) and finished first in 2009 (13–3).
    • Tampa Bay finished last in 2009 (3–13) but despite finishing third in 2010 with a 10–6 record, did not make the playoffs, due to Green Bay holding the wild-card strength of victory tiebreaker.
    • Carolina finished last in 2010 (2–14) and was eliminated from playoff contention in Week 14 of the 2011 season after going 4–9, becoming the first NFC South team to have a losing season after placing last in the division.
  • From 2002 to 2009, no team in the NFC South earned back-to-back playoff appearances. In Week 16 of the 2010 season, New Orleans clinched a wild-card berth, becoming the first NFC South team to earn consecutive playoff appearances. New Orleans earned three consecutive playoff appearances in the 2009, 2010, and 2011 seasons and four in a row from 2017 to 2020. Atlanta also earned three consecutive playoff appearances, in 2010, 2011, and 2012, and Carolina in 2013, 2014, and 2015. Tampa Bay made it three consecutive years of playing in the post-season in 2020, 2021, and 2022.
  • Each team has won the division at least four times and made a playoff appearance at least five times since the division's formation.
  • Each team has finished last in the division at least twice since the division's formation. Before 2012, no team has finished last in the division in consecutive seasons. Tampa Bay became the first team in the division to place last in the division in consecutive seasons.
  • From 2002 to 2011, there was an outright last-place finisher in the division (i.e.: tiebreakers were not necessary to determine who finished last). That streak came to an end during the 2012 season when Carolina, New Orleans, and Tampa Bay all finished at 7–9. This happened again in 2013 when both Atlanta and Tampa Bay finished 4–12.
  • In 2014, Carolina became the first team to defend the NFC South title. No other team in the division has managed to do so until New Orleans defeated Tampa Bay on December 9, 2018, and clinched the division for the second straight season. Carolina also became the second team in NFL history to win its division and advance to the playoffs with a losing record (7–8–1). The first team to accomplish this is the 2010 Seahawks, who won the NFC West with a 7–9 record and beat New Orleans in a Wild Card game.
  • With Atlanta winning the 2016–17 NFC Championship, the NFC South became the first division since the 2002 realignment to have all four of its teams represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. (Tampa Bay 2002 and 2020, Carolina 2003 and 2015, New Orleans 2009, Atlanta 2016).
  • In the 2017 NFL season, three of the NFC South's teams (Atlanta, New Orleans, and Carolina) qualified for the playoffs. This was also the first time that two NFC South teams met in the playoffs, as New Orleans hosted and defeated Carolina in the Wild Card playoffs.
  • In 2020, the New Orleans Saints became the first team to sweep the entire division in the regular season and win 4 consecutive division titles. In the playoffs, they would then lose to the eventual Super Bowl champions, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.[1]
  • In 2022, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers became the fourth team in NFL history to win its division and advance to the playoffs with a losing record (8–9). The 2010 Seahawks, 2014 Panthers, and 2020 Washington Football Team previously accomplished this feat.
  • In 2024, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers tied with the New Orleans Saints for the most division titles (7) and most consecutive division titles (4). The Buccaneers also broke the record for most consecutive playoff appearances, with 5.

See also

References

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