The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been one of the season’s biggest letdowns. Unlike teams battling through stacked divisions, the Bucs have stumbled in a more forgiving landscape and now find themselves fighting for a playoff spot in the final week.
What’s making their situation even worse is that Tampa Bay opened 6-2 and briefly looked like an NFC threat, with Baker Mayfield drawing early MVP buzz. Despite their win in Week 18, the Buccaneers will finish the season with a losing record and stare at the possibility of missing the postseason altogether.
Can the Buccaneers Still Make the Playoffs?
Before Week 18, the Buccaneers were in the midst of an almighty collapse that began with a loss to the New England Patriots, which led to them losing seven of their last eight games. During that span, injuries have played a role in their bad luck, but their overall production has been far from impressive.
Having given up 20 or more points in each loss, they have suffered some truly horrifying defeats, including ones against the Miami Dolphins, the New Orleans Saints, and the Atlanta Falcons. Now, they find themselves with their backs against the wall.
They were able to secure the win against the Carolina Panthers in Week 18, but the Buccaneers have not yet sealed a playoff spot. Thanks to the state of the NFC South, there is a scenario in which they can still miss out on a postseason berth.
Only one scenario gets the Buccaneers into the playoffs. While they needed to ensure a win over the Carolina Panthers, they also required the Atlanta Falcons to lose their game. Alternatively, based on the second tiebreakers, it will be the Panthers who hold onto the one-seed in the division.
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As a result, according to PFSN’s Playoff Predictor, the Buccaneers currently have a 35% chance to win the division and make the playoffs, while the Panthers have a 65% chance.
And with the way the rest of the NFL is shaping out, they are locked into the four-seed if they do get in, where the second-seed from the NFC West, which might be a legitimate Super Bowl threat between the San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, or Los Angeles Rams.
Even if they make it, it is hard to imagine Tampa Bay keeping up with any of those teams, despite their victory over Seattle early in the season.
