With the Philadelphia Eagles' shocking 34-17 loss to the New York Giants on Monday Night Football, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers just got a major boost in the NFC playoff race. The Eagles are the only team to beat the Buccaneers through five weeks and hold the head-to-head tiebreaker, but after back-to-back losses, Philadelphia now finds themselves behind Tampa Bay in the NFC standings.
At 4-1, Tampa Bay is now tied for the best record in the NFC, along with the San Francisco 49ers and Detroit Lions. Those two teams happen to be the Buccaneers' next two opponents, and the Bucs have a chance to take full control of the NFC if they find a way to win their next two games.
While the Buccaneers are dealing with a litany of injuries of their own, they may have run into the 49ers and Lions at the perfect time in games that will hold massive playoff implications. The 49ers will remain without quarterback Brock Purdy, who is 3-0 in his career against Tampa Bay.
Ricky Pearsall, who was on a tear to begin the season as one of the league's most productive receivers, is unlikely to play with a knee injury. Tight end George Kittle, who has caught touchdowns in consecutive matchups against Tampa Bay, was originally targeting Week 6 against the Bucs for his return from injury but is now expected to be held out another week. The 49ers offense that has had the Buccaneers' number in recent years will be significantly depleted which could give the Bucs a significant advantage in such a key game.
Similarly, Tampa Bay will take on an injured Lions team in Week 7 in an equally important game. The Lions' starting cornerback duo of D.J. Reed and Terrion Arnold are both expected to miss extended time according to head coach Dan Campbell, and both are unlikely to return against the Buccaneers. At the same time, Mike Evans has a real chance to return from his injury for the matchup against Detroit. It would be a tall task for the Lions, down two corners, to slow down Evans, Chris Godwin Jr., and red-hot rookie Emeka Egbuka.
The Lions boast one of the NFL's most dangerous offenses, and this game has the potential to turn into a real shootout reminiscent of the Bucs' 38-35 victory over the Seahawks in Week 5. Tampa Bay could use every advantage they could get in a road game against arguably the NFL's best team.
If the Buccaneers find a way to take down both the 49ers and Lions, which would certainly be no easy task, they'd boast an NFC-leading 6-1 record heading into a game against the struggling New Orleans Saints before a Week 9 BYE.
The Buccaneers will also end the season with what appears to be one of the NFL’s easiest six-game stretches on paper, a run that includes a home matchup with the Saints, two games against the Carolina Panthers, and a meeting with the reeling Miami Dolphins sandwiched in between.
If Tampa Bay can handle business and survive the toughest part of its schedule over the next few weeks, the team will be in prime position to control its own destiny down the stretch and cruise toward the NFC’s No. 1 seed.