The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were cut a huge break on Sunday. The team's free fall continued, as they lost 20-17 to the Quinn Ewers-led Miami Dolphins. Luckily for them, the rival Carolina Panthers lost 27-10 to the Seattle Seahawks. That sets up a battle for the NFC South next week, with the Buccaneers hosting the Panthers.
So the winner of that season finale will make it into the NFL playoffs as the NFC South champions, right? Well, not so fast, especially when it comes to the Buccaneers.
Even if the Buccaneers are to defeat the Panthers next week, they better hope another rival doesn't play the role of spoiler. Unfortunately for them, that team could very well be the Atlanta Falcons.
How the Buccaneers can get the NFC South stolen from them even if they beat the Panthers in Week 18
As ProFootballTalk's Mike Florio points out, the Falcons could really ruin the Buccaneers' chances at winning the NFC South. If the Falcons win their final two games this season against the Los Angeles Rams on Monday and the New Orleans Saints next week and if the Buccaneers defeat the Panthers, the NFC South will enter a three-team tie at 8-9. If that were to happen, the Panthers would win the NFC South via the best record of the three-team round-robin. The Panthers are 3-1 in head-to-head competition, while the Buccaneers are 2-2.
Of course, nothing could be easy for the Buccaneers. After all, they did go 6-1 to start the year and spiral into a 1-8 free fall after that. Yes, injuries have played a role in their lack of wins, but look at the San Francisco 49ers, who have an injury-riddled roster and still picked up 11 wins heading into Sunday night. It's definitely possible, but the Buccaneers haven't been able to overcome those injuries.
The Buccaneers need a huge favor from the Rams on Monday, and that's to make sure that the Falcons don't factor into the winner of the NFC South division in the 2025 season. But if the Falcons do manage to pull off an upset against the playoff-bound team and NFL MVP favorite Matthew Stafford, Week 18 is going to be more tense than usual.