16. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tampa Bay would have played on Sunday Night Football
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are struggling a bit and are likely going to lose to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday Night Football. Tampa’s defense has been a problem for most of the season, and unless they pull off an upset, they’re staring at yet another loss and a 6-5 record.
Tampa is one of the most ‘good’ teams in the NFL, and these types of teams don’t have much of a margin for error. Baker Mayfield is a good QB, but he’s not great, and the same can be said for head coach Todd Bowles.
The Bucs have still been able to win the NFC South for years now, but you can definitely see some chinks in the armour. Tampa continues to fall in our NFL Power Rankings. This SNF showdown could be a do-or-die for their season in 2025.
15. Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions won in overtime against the New York Giants, and I am not sure head coach Dan Campbell would be pleased with this kind of effort, as the Lions probably should have beaten up on New York, but that was not the case.
The Lions, even with a win, are still in third place in the NFC North, as the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers both won. The entire operation seems to have taken a step back this year, and it seems like losing both Aaron Glenn and Ben Johnson has caught up to them a bit.
If nothing else, though, the Lions are one of the more talented teams in the NFL and should be able to stack four-ish more wins because of that, but they do need the Packers and Bears to slip up a bit if they hope to win the NFC North again.
The Lions have also kind of fallen flat on their face in the playoffs, so that’s an entirely different story. A win is a win, but it was not a pretty one for Detroit.