Eight weeks ago, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were riding a six and two record out of the bye week with Super Bowl aspirations and a light schedule down the stretch. Fast forward to today and the Bucks have lost six of their last seven, and need to win out to make the playoffs.
Go back 11 weeks, and Tampa Bay was coming off a thrilling victory against the Seattle Seahawks, were sitting high at top the power rankings, and Baker Mayfield was in the MVP conversation. Things can change in an instant in the NFL, the Bucs have found that out the hard way this season. What once started with goals of a Super Bowl, have turned into hopes of a playoff berth.
A month ago the Buccaneers had several players in contention for top 10 spots in the league’s fan voting for the Pro Bowl games. Now, not one Buc is represented amongst his peers, showing how much losing can be detrimental to not just the franchise but to its individual players.
Not one Buccaneer in sight… https://t.co/xJAjmfkqdz
— JC Allen (@JCAllenNFL) December 22, 2025
Now the fan voting is just one third of the vote. The other two thirds are voted on by their peers and coaches around the league. The Pro Bowl games for the most part have become an after thought for most fans and a free vacation for the players willing to go. But for some players who have aspirations of getting into Canton one day, the Hall of Fame voters still put some stock into total Pro Bowl selections.
As of earlier this month the Bucs had four players in the top 10 of fan voting. Jamel Dean was third amongst cornerbacks. Tristan Wirfs was third at tackle. Tykee Smith was third at strong safety and Emeka Egbuka was sixth at wide receiver. Of the four, Dean and Wirfs have been the most consistent but even they have struggled over the last month.
At this point, the Bucs will need to hope the player and coaches vote is enough to earn a representative on the initial Pro Bowl roster. Dean and Wirfs still likely have the best chances but Chase McLaughlin could be a sneaky addition. While injuries have played a part this year the Bucs have struggled to find Pro Bowl caliber players through the draft as well. One way they can further help their chances is to win out and lock up the NFC South and a playoff spot.