The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are on their bye this week, which means it's impossible for the team to hurt fans this week the way we've seen over the last four games. In fact, the bye week is one where only good things can happen for the Bucs, as not only is the team resting to get healthy for a second half surge but have plenty of action on Sunday that could help give them a break in the playoff race.
Right now things are pretty grim for Tampa Bay, but the season is hardly over. At 4-6 the Bucs are three games out of first place in the NFC South but they sit just two games out of the final Wild Card spot.
The Commanders losing on Thursday night helped out, as the Bucs own a head-to-head tiebreaker over Washington and can pass them in a few weeks if things go well. There are some other games on Sunday that could also help massage Tampa Bay's situation and help set them up for a potential bounceback starting next week.
Important games Buccaneers fans should keep an eye on during the bye week
Atlanta Falcons vs. Denver Broncos - 4:15 pm ET
Outcome Bucs Need: Broncos over Falcons
This is the single biggest game of the week for the Buccaneers to keep an eye on. Heading into Sunday the Falcons have a commanding three game lead -- including the tiebreaker -- over Tampa Bay and can further distance themselves with a big day in Denver.
Bucs fans are faced with a classic the enemy of my enemy is my friend situation as Sean Payton is the one who can help them out with a Broncos win over Atlanta. If that happens, Tampa Bay would gain some ground on the Falcons before heading into a soft stretch of the schedule, while Atlanta has upcoming games against the Chargers and Vikings.
It's still a situation where they need some help, but the Bucs face opponents with a combined record of 7-22 while the Falcons get two of the best teams in the league.
Chicago Bears vs. Green Bay Packers - 1pm ET
Outcome Bucs Need: Bears over Packers
Most the help the Bucs can get on Sunday is in the Wild Card race, which is where some nice ground can be made up without having to play a single down. Chicago pulling off an upset win over Green Bay would be huge for Tampa Bay, as it would drop the Packers' playoff chances to 56 percent and also cost them a confernce win that could help the Bucs in a tiebreaker.
Tampa Bay doesn't play Green Bay this year but a loss combined with some common opponent marks for the Bucs would be very helpful.
Of course, the Bears would move up in the playoff standings with a win over the Packers, but the gamble here is that Chicago doesn't have what it takes to keep building momentum. The Bears are not a good team this year, so it'd be easier for them to fade than for the Packers to do the same.
New England Patriots vs. Los Angeles Rams - 1 pm ET
Outcome Bucs Need: Patriots over Rams
Los Angeles is starting to turn things around after a sluggish start, which only adds another player to the game in the Wild Card race. Tampa Bay doesn't play the Rams this year, which means there's no chance for a head-to-head tiebreaker but a win by New England would drop Los Angeles down to 4-6 and the tier the Bucs are on right now.
We've seen the Rams go on runs in the second half of seasons before, and snuffing that out before too much momentum builds would be a nice break for the Bucs.
Seattle Seahawks vs. San Francisco 49ers - 4:15 pm ET
Outcome Bucs Need: Seahawks over 49ers
Thanks to a brutal loss last week, the Bucs don't have the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Niners which means they'll need some help to make up ground. Right now San Francisco is the first team out of the playoff bubble, and having that edge on the Bucs means they'd bump them out if things ended up even at the end of the year.
Seattle is also in the Wild Card race but it's a lesser of two evils situation for Tampa Bay. It's much easier to draw up tiebreaker scenarios for the Bucs over the Seahawks than it is for them to get past the Niners without cancelling out the tiebreaker.
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