Tampa Bay Buccaneers control their Playoff destiny
By Dan Salem
No matter how you slice it, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are in the playoff hunt. With all four NFC South teams in the division race, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers control their NFL destiny. Dan Salem and Todd Salem debate in today’s NFL TD Sports Debate. Two brothers from New York yell, scream and debate the NFL and sports.
TODD:
Break up the Tampa Bay Buccaneers! They won every game they played last week and sit just two games out of first place in the jumbled NFC South.
Tampa Bay trails only Arizona and San Diego in fewest points allowed in the NFL since November 10. And quarterback Josh McCown has been on a tear since his return to the starting spot. Since he was reinstated as the starter, McCown is completing 64 percent of his passes, averaging 8.9 yards per attempt and has a 2:1 touchdown-to-interception ratio.
For some comparison, the “best” quarterback in the division, Drew Brees, is averaging just 7.3 YPA and has a 1.9:1 TD-to-INT ratio.
It’s still a bit too early to say McCown will retire as a better passer than Brees, but things are trending that way.
The difference of course has been on the outside, where the QB now has a prolific weapon in rookie receiver Mike Evans. Evans has been a one-man wreaking crew. In the Bucs’ wins this season, Evans has tallied 137 yards per game on just 5.5 receptions for an average 25 YPC. He has also gotten into the endzone at least once during every Buccaneers win.
The NFC South has the weakest leader in all of football, by far. Besides that, three of the Bucs’ next four games come against teams who have respectively looked like some of the sorriest teams in the league recently: Chicago (weeks eight-ten debacle), Cincinnati (week ten Dalton storm) and Carolina (ever since week six).
What I’m getting at here is the NFC South is Tampa’s for the taking. The facts bear that out.
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DAN:
You were high on the Bucs heading into the season and although their record looks awful, they do in fact have an excellent shot at winning the NFC South division. Personal feelings aside, I believe the best team prevails and the Saints ultimately finish atop the division, I too can see a late season run leading to playoff glory for Tampa Bay.
There was way too much subtext in your compliments for my liking, but stats are facts and facts don’t lie. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are in the playoff hunt. The entire division is still in the race however, but leaving the past behind and looking squarely at upcoming opponents, I love Tampa’s chances. Each team has five or six games left and here they are, from the bottom of the division to the top (Tampa is at the bottom, but not for long).
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6 games):
Chicago, Cincinnati, Detroit, Carolina, Green Bay, New Orleans
Carolina Panthers (5 games):
Minnesota, New Orleans, Tampa Bay, Cleveland, Atlanta
New Orleans Saints (6 games):
Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Carolina, Chicago, Atlanta, Tampa Bay
Atlanta Falcons (6 games):
Cleveland, Arizona, Green Bay, Pittsburgh, New Orleans, Carolina
I put the division games in bold to show how much football is left in this division alone. Tampa has the opportunity to split with both Carolina and New Orleans. While two losses to Atlanta currently look bad, the Falcons have the toughest road to the division title of any team in the NFC South. But the biggest reason the Buccaneers control their own destiny and can actually turn this season around is that both current division leaders (at 4-6 mind you) play back to back division games in the final two weeks of the regular season.
The Falcons are losing 3 of 4 over the next month at a minimum, heading into those final two weeks. The Saints are losing 2 of 4 over the next month at a minimum and Carolina looks like it might go winless. Tampa Bay is not beating Green Bay, but the other three matchups outside their division are certainly winnable.
The Buccaneers must win their final two divisional games to win this division, but it’s looking as though six victories could in fact win this division. I wish I was able to work out all the tie-breaker scenarios on the fly, because glancing at the schedule above, I can see Tampa Bay, Atlanta, and New Orleans all finishing at 6-10. This probably doesn’t lead to Tampa in the playoffs, so if they can secure a seventh victory, they are in.
No matter how disgusting a 7-9 or 6-10 division winner and playoff berth is, we are about to see it happen. None of the NFC South teams are playing well, except for the Buccaneers (at least a little bit). Winning five of their final six games is difficult but doable, and winning four of six is solely in the realm of possibility. All of the remaining Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ fans, the ones devoted enough to hang on through the slop, you have meaningful football left this season. Count yourselves lucky.
TODD:
Winning five of six is doable? Get the heck out of here! Tampa Bay hasn’t won five games TOTAL in the last twelve months.