Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Legitimate NFL Playoff Contender?

After a sluggish start this year, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are starting to open some eyes around the NFL. Are they a contender or merely another pretender?

Don’t look now, but the Atlanta Falcons have some competition when it comes to capturing the NFC South. It’s not the defending NFC champion Carolina Panthers, who have won this division each of the past three seasons. It could be the New Orleans Saints, who are two games out of first place. But they have already lost to the Falcons this year and that was at the Superdome. It would take some doing.

Actually, it’s a team that is led by a few players and some coaches that used to call the Georgia Dome home. It’s a club that began 2016 with a 31-24 victory in Atlanta.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers dropped three-straight games after knocking off the Falcons. But head coach Dirk Koetter and his staff have settled in and so has this team. Led by quarterback Jameis Winston and an emerging defense, the club has won three straight and five of their last seven games. And it’s the club’s back-to-back victories at Kansas City and over Seattle that suddenly have people taking notice.

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Talk about a turnaround on the defensive side of the ball? During the club’s 1-3 start, the Bucs totaled nine sacks and only two takeaways. It’s been a different story over the last seven games as defensive coordinator Mike Smith (yes, the former Falcons head coach) has seen the team rack up 18 sacks and force an equal amount of turnovers.

Defensive tackle Gerald McCoy leads the club with six quarterback traps, while linebackers Kwon Alexander and Lavonte David are quality playmakers.

Speaking of miscues, Winston has cut back on his after a shaky start. During the team’s current 5-2 run, he thrown 14 touchdown passes and coughed up the ball only five times (thee interceptions, two lost fumbles). Remember when the team dropped three of its first four games? The second-year quarterback connected for eight scores, but was picked off eight times and lost a pair of fumbles.

Wideout Mike Evans leads the team with 73 catches, good for 1,020 yards and 10 scores. The real surprises have been tight end Cameron Brate and wide receiver Adam Humphries. The ground attack has had its issues due to injuries, but running back Doug Martin is healthy once again.

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So are the Buccaneers legitimate contenders? They are certainly playing that was as of late. And the road ahead may give them ample opportunity to get the job done. After this week’s trip to San Diego, there are four conference games remaining in the form of home tilts with the Saints and Panthers and road trips to New Orleans and Dallas. They have already split with the Falcons this season.

All told, Koetter’s club will also need some help along the way. But it wouldn’t be a shock to see this club in the postseason for the first time since 2007.

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