Polls are an interesting thing. Two weeks ago, the Buccaneers were ranked 11th on average in national polls. A decent position, but well below the Atlanta Falcons and Denver Broncos, both generally ranked near the top of power rankings. An extremely close loss to the Falcons and one not-so-close loss to the Broncos should change little about such an assessment, yet the Bucs now rank four spots lower than they did two weeks ago.
Are the Bucs the 15th best team in the NFL? I doubt it, and we'll see them climb in these rankings again if they get back to winning - even though they'll just be beating worse teams.
SB Nation - 15th (down from 12th):
After a 1-3 start, they caught fire for a few weeks before coming back to earth. Credit them for playing two of the NFL's best teams (Atlanta and Denver) tough.
Pro Football Talk - 17th (down from 14th):
At least the future is brighter than it used to be
Their one-point home loss to Atlanta in Week 12 could wind up keeping the Bucs from the playoffs.
Fox Sports (Brian Billick) - 15th (down from 11th):
Doug Martin has now been held under 60 yards in two straight games ... both losses.
CBS Sports (Pete Prisco) - 15th (down from 14th):
They are .500 and now must win out and get some help to have a playoff chance. But they are a much better team than expected.
Pro Football Weekly - 14th (down from 10th):
Lavonte David continues great rookie campaign with pick.
NFL.com (Elliot Harrison) - 15th (down from 12th):
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers remain above Dallas, settling in at 15. Now, that's despite having the same record and despite the fact they lost at Jerryworld earlier this season. Why? Well, for starters, the Bucs have outscored opponents by 48 points and have been more consistent this season. (For more reasons, see the Cowboys, all the way down at 16th.) The Bucs are gonna need as many points as possible going forward, considering they have road games against the explosive Saints and Falcons on the horizon.