The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ 50th anniversary season officially ended at 4:12 p.m. on January 4, 2026, when the Atlanta Falcons edged the New Orleans Saints 19–17, creating a dramatic three‑way tie atop the NFC South. Despite Tampa Bay’s gritty win over Carolina the day before, the tiebreakers favored the Panthers, handing them the division crown and ending the Bucs’ streak of six straight postseason appearances and four consecutive NFC South titles. It was a bitter conclusion to a season that began with promise and ended with frustration, missed opportunities, and a division slipping away in the final minutes of Week 18.

A Collapse Defined by Missed Opportunities

The Buccaneers’ failure to repeat as division champions can be traced back to a season that started 6–1 but unraveled quickly. Tampa Bay won just two of its final nine games, including losses to multiple teams with losing records — the Falcons, Panthers, Saints, and Cardinals — all by three points or fewer. Any one of those games, had it gone the other way, would have made Saturday’s win over Carolina the clincher for a fifth straight NFC South title.

Instead, even as the Bucs slogged through a dark, rainy Saturday afternoon and beat the Panthers, they no longer controlled their destiny. Their season, in truth, ended long before the Falcons’ victory over the Saints made it official.

Todd Bowles’ Future and Major Offseason Decisions Loom

Now the focus shifts to head coach Todd Bowles and the future of his entire coaching staff. The Glazer family must determine how much of the collapse was due to coaching and how much stemmed from a roster ravaged by injuries on both sides of the ball — a theme echoed throughout the national and local media.

Then comes the biggest personnel decision: quarterback Baker Mayfield. Playing hurt for the final six weeks, Mayfield still produced enough to remain a fan favorite and respected locker‑room leader. He enters the final year of his contract in 2026, earning $30 million guaranteed, and according to reporting from Sports Illustrated, the team plans to begin extension discussions during the year. Still, Tampa Bay is expected to explore drafting a quarterback or signing a low‑cost veteran backup, with names such as Malik Willis and Tyler Huntley circulating as potential targets.

More Questions Than Answers as the Offseason Begins

As Tampa Bay enters the offseason, the organization faces more uncertainty than at any point in the last half‑decade. From coaching decisions to quarterback planning to rebuilding depth across the roster, the Buccaneers must confront hard truths about how a season that began with championship aspirations ended in disappointment.

The 50th anniversary season is over — and the next era begins now.

By Carter Brantley 

In a tough, double overtime game with over 70 free throws combined by both teams, the USF Bulls took a 109-106 loss on their home court to the UAB Blazers. 

In the Bulls’ first game of American Conference play, they got some monster contributions from the usual suspects. 

Wes Enis put up 36 points with 10 3 pointers, hitting big bucket after big bucket. 

Izaiyah Nelson played his usual stifling brand of defense, but also contributed 23 points and 11 boards. 

Unfortunately the biggest blow of the game came when guard CJ Brown fouled out after struggling most of the afternoon with his shot, only posting 8 points on 3-12 shooting from the field. 

But the Bulls missed his playmaking dearly in the 2nd overtime, as the offense struggled without his 5 assists on the floor. 

UAB managed to get a huge outing off the bench from Chance Westry, who had 24 points and 6 assists on 8-12 shooting from the field. 

While it’s a bummer of a start for the Bulls in conference play, they played a very hard-fought game and have no reason to hang their heads based on effort. 

They out rebounded UAB 61-49 and had 22 assists as a team. 

The biggest thorn in the side of USF was unfortunately their inability to take care of the ball. 

The Bulls nearly doubled the turnover total of the Blazers, committing 14 to UAB’s 8. 

USF heads to Denton, Texas this Wednesday to take on the North Texas Mean Green, who have taken consecutive losses to begin their conference play against Tulsa and Memphis. 

The Bulls have every chance to turn this season into a good one despite the disappointing start, and they certainly showed they have the talent to do so; if Brown stays on the floor, who knows how Sunday’s game turns out?

We’ll see how they bounce back from this loss, as they will undoubtedly want to take advantage of the winnable conference games before playing hefty opponents such as Tulane, Memphis, and Tulsa.