Very similar to final yr, the Bucs are heading into the regular-season finale taking part in a few of their greatest soccer. Coming off a 48-14 win over the Panthers which was essentially the most full crew win of the yr, Tampa Bay has now gained 5 out of its final six video games. It has them sitting at 9-7 and answerable for their very own future heading right into a Week 18 matchup in opposition to the Saints.
How does their late-season run place them amongst different groups seeking to make some noise heading into the playoffs?
How Do The Bucs Examine To Different Groups Gearing Up For The Playoffs?
Bucs HC Todd Bowles – Photograph by: Cliff Welch/PR
They nonetheless must win on Sunday, however ought to they, the Bucs will make the 2024 playoffs as NFC South champions.
Though the Saints come marching into city contemporary off a 25-10 loss to the Raiders and being shut out by the Packers 34-0 the week earlier than, it’s nonetheless a recreation the house crew might want to come out and present as much as. Divisional video games are by no means simple, however a Tampa Bay victory can have them heading into the postseason as winners of six out of their final seven video games.
How they stack as much as groups readying for the playoffs just isn’t as easy. ESPN’s Invoice Barnwell just lately checked out among the largest storylines rising from Week 17. In a single phase, Barnwell seems at 5 groups that no person will need to face going deeper into the month of January.
He does lay out some standards to make his listing, outlining that it’s not simply juggernaut groups just like the Chiefs and Lions to fret about. Even groups that don’t have one of the best report or essentially the most expertise can get scorching on the proper time and do sufficient to drag off an upset.
The Bucs rank fourth on his listing. They rank above the Commanders however beneath the Rams, Bengals, and Vikings.
Todd Bowles’ crew has gone 5-1 over its previous six video games, though that one loss was in opposition to Cooper Rush and the Cowboys in prime time in Week 16. Since their Week 11 bye, the Bucs rank fourth within the league in factors per drive and fifth in EPA per play on offense. They racked up 506 yards and 40 factors in a cushty victory over the Chargers earlier this month.
That win was spectacular, however I’d additionally gently level out that the opposite victories on this successful streak came visiting the Giants, Raiders and in a home-and-home vs. the Panthers, which isn’t precisely playoff-caliber competitors. Then once more, this Tampa Bay crew beat the Lions and Eagles in September, took the Chiefs to extra time and has a quarterback in Baker Mayfield who has thrown for 260-plus yards and three touchdowns in three of his 4 playoff begins. Ask the Eagles whether or not they need to see the Bucs once more after what has occurred the previous two instances they’ve performed them.
Bucs WR Mike Evans and OC Liam Coen – Photograph by: Cliff Welch P/R
I wished to share Barnwell’s evaluation as a result of it precisely and succinctly describes the season and present state of the Bucs.
They’ve been rolling post-bye week, but it surely has additionally come in opposition to groups competing extra for prime picks than playoff seeds. They’ve gotten proper and have had assertion wins over the Chargers and Panthers just lately, however additionally they misplaced to the Cowboys in a troublesome recreation. They beat prime groups such because the Lions in Detroit and the Eagles early on, but in addition suffered robust losses to the Ravens, Falcons, Chiefs, and 49ers.
For all the great soccer Tampa Bay has performed, there has additionally been a destructive connotation subsequent to it, which makes them an attention-grabbing crew to dissect heading into the playoffs.
On one hand, they’ve a Tremendous Bowl-level offense that deserves extra credit score throughout for what they’ve executed this yr, and when the protection is rolling and taking part in complementary soccer, few groups can grasp round. However, the protection has struggled all year long and once they surrender greater than 20 factors, they’re 3-7. It should take a mixed effort on each side of the soccer to make a deep playoff run, however they’ve proven sufficient to be a formidable opponent in opposition to anybody.
Todd Bowles And Baker Mayfield Remark On The place The Bucs Stand
Chatting with the media on Wednesday afternoon, head coach Todd Bowles and quarterback Baker Mayfield mentioned whether or not the crew is peaking on the proper time and the assumption they stored in themselves regardless of a four-game dropping streak that dropped them to 4-6. At 9-7, the outlook has gotten so much brighter.
Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photograph by: Cliff Welch/PR
“We’ve gained 5 out of six, so we’ve obtained to win yet one more,” Bowles stated concerning the crew taking part in higher after coping with mid-season adversity. “I like the way in which we’re taking part in proper now. We’ve simply obtained to maintain the errors down.”
With Mayfield on the helm, it’s onerous to guess in opposition to Tampa Bay from staying within the thick of issues and making the season attention-grabbing. Because the chief and captain of a crew that embodies resilience, he helped guys preserve the religion and proper the ship on the street to the playoffs.
“I actually believed it,” Mayfield stated of whether or not he believed the crew would find yourself again within the playoff hunt. “I had stated it early on – this crew had the psychological make-up to beat something, and we do. It’s onerous whenever you’re in the midst of it, within the thick of it, attempting to see what’s going flawed, attempt to discover these solutions and repair it. Typically it takes longer than others.
“It goes again to doing the little issues proper, guys being on the identical web page, speaking, and at this level within the yr we’ve performed quite a lot of ball. There’s not a lot you may actually set up that’s new, so it’s about speaking and being on the identical web page and our guys are doing that.”
Nothing is assured, and heading into Week 18, there’s a lot on the road. The Bucs have relied on their offense to set the tone and that might want to proceed this week and past.
“I’ll converse from an offense perspective – nonetheless taking part in aggressive, nonetheless taking part in to win, to go win the sport, not simply to get by,” Mayfield stated. “Having that very same mentality we’ve carried by means of of attempting to attain quite a lot of factors early and infrequently, to let the protection get after them a little bit bit. That’s our mentality on offense – to attain as many [points] as we probably can and don’t look again.”
