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Everything broke exactly the way the Bucs wanted them to last week with one lone exception. The Falcons choked away a game to the Browns and are still winless outside of the division. New Orleans' defense put on a show (in a bad way) and they got beat at home by the Ravens.
But something was missing...let me see what was it? Oh yeah, The Bucs lost. Again. Another opportunity goes by the wayside for the Bucs yet thanks to the horrible suckitude of the NFC South, it's not over yet.
Okay, realistically it is - but we have to do this anyway.
Who to root for this week:
- Buccaneers over Bengals (Obviously)
- Vikings at home over Panthers
- Steelers at home over Saints
- Cardinals on the road over Falcons
Futurecast:
As long as their NFC South brethen continue to suck, the Bucs can sustain one more loss this season and continue to be in the race as long as that loss is not to Carolina or New Orleans.
The target is 6-10 at this point.
Tampa Bay needs to beat both of the division rivals remaining on their schedule and take two out of three from Cincinatti (at home), Detroit (on the road) and Green Bay (at home) to get to 6-10.
Yeah, not easy. If they lose this week, then they basically have to win out.
Of course, going 6-10 isn't enough, the Bucs need to have their division opponents to finish with no more than 5 wins as the Bucs lose every conceivable tie-breaker.
The Saints play the Panthers in Week 14 so someone will get a win there. The Saints and Falcons play each other in Week 16, and the Falcons play the Panthers in Week 17.
Scenario One -
Week 13 - Everything goes the Bucs way
Week 14 - Bucs lost at the Lions, Green Bay beats the Falcons, Panthers beat the Saints
Week 15 - Bucs beat Panthers, Bears beat the Saints, Steelers beat the Falcons
Week 16 - Bucs beat Green Bay, Saints beat the Falcons, Browns beat the Panthers
Week 17 - Bucs beat the Saints, Falcons Beat the Panthers
Final NFC South Standings
Bucs 6-10
Falcons 5-11
Saints 5-11
Panthers 4-11-1
Scenario Two -
Week 13 - Everything goes the Bucs way
Week 14 - Bucs lost at the Lions, Green Bay beats the Falcons, Panthers beat the Saints
Week 15 - Bucs beat Panthers, Bears beat the Saints, Steelers beat the Falcons
Week 16 - Bucs beat Green Bay, Falcons beat the Saints, Browns beat the Panthers
Week 17 - Bucs beat the Saints, Panthers Beat the Falcons
Final NFC South Standings
Bucs 6-10
Panthers 5-10-1
Falcons 5-11
Saints 4-12
I think you get the idea. No matter what happens, the Bucs must finish 4-1 (with the one loss coming to Cincinatti, Detroit or Green Bay), New Orleans and Atlanta must finish 1-4 and Carolina can do no better than 2-3.
If New Orleans or Atlanta get their second win, the Bucs must win out to win the NFC South.
The Bucs margin for error is razor thin, unfortunately their propensity for error is great.