NFL playoff picture concerning for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The NFL released their current playoff picture with the projected teams and their seedings, and the image isn’t great for the Buccaneers.

After a preseason that had hopes as high as making the Super Bowl representing the NFC, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have slipped on their path after five weeks of NFL play.

The Bucs are currently sitting at three and two with a tough matchup against the Green Bay Packers this weekend, and some questions need to be asked.

According to the NFL’s Twitter account, the Bucs are absent from the playoffs by this point in the season. There are still 11 games left to play, but these are the current projections.

Unfortunately, Tampa Bay doesn’t even sneak in through one of the three wildcard spots on this image. This isn’t the time to completely call the season dead yet for Bucs fans, but the concern has already begun.

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At the very least, a team of Tampa Bay’s caliber should be able to earn one of the wildcard spots. The NFL added one additional spot for in the AFC and the NFC for additional contenders, but the Bucs don’t even make the cut there.

The Buccaneers started the first quarter of the season out strong with three wins and one loss, but the stats didn’t show the whole story.

Contrary to what some believe, winning is not the only stat that matters. The Buccaneers were winning games, but to think that Tampa Bay has the legs to compete after the sloppy stretch of games that transpired is why wins aren’t the only stat worth looking at.

The Bucs played several close games against some of the weaker teams in the league, and the red flags have been painfully obvious ever since week one.

The Chicago Bears were the real team to expose the Bucs, and now the entire season hangs in the balance of the next few weeks. Tampa Bay will still face-off with the Packers, who are undefeated, and the Chiefs, who are another one of the best teams in the league, and the Bucs could have to crawl their way back from .500 or worse if they hope to edge their way back into relevance.

The Buccaneers need to make a change immediately if they hope to live up to their potential. The players have to be better, and the coaching staff has to make better decisions if they want to end up on that image later in the year.

The first five weeks of the season never decide anything, but Tampa Bay needs to use this as a wake-up call.