With just three games left in the season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers couldn’t be in a better spot. The damage a four-game losing streak inflicted been almost bene completely erased as the Bucs have wrestled back control of both the NFC South and a top seed in the playoff picture.
If the Buccaneers win out they’ll clinch the No. 3 seed in the NFC, which is insane to think about considering where things were just a month ago. All seemed to be lost, with fans actively calling for Todd Bowles to be fired and gloom-and-doom overshadowing everything.
Now all the Bucs need to do is win their final three games and they’ll win a fourth straight NFC South title. Not only that, but winning out would mean the team rides a seven game winning streak into the playoffs, which would be the longest under Bowles and the sort of momentum that carries a team on a Super Bowl run.
At least, that’s what the narrative is starting to shape into.
Pete Prisco thinks the Buccaneers can win the Super Bowl this year
CBS Sports analyst Pete Prisco is officially hopping onto the Buccaneers bandwagon. While talking about potential threats in the playoffs, Prisco not only mentioned Tampa Bay but went as far as to deem them Super Bowl contenders.
“All-in and they might make a run in the postseason to get to the championship and maybe even beyond. I love this team,” Prisco said. “I absolutely think they can .”
It’s worth taking a step back and appreciating the positive national attention the Bucs are starting to get. Back-to-back offseasons have been filled with nothing but experts doubting the Bucs and assuming they’re going to regress, something that hit a fever pitch this year.
After Baker Mayfield secured a $100 million contract, all anyone could talk about was how the Falcons signing Kirk Cousins would mean the division finally flips in Atlanta’s favor. It took little more than three months for that all to come crashing down, as Cousins as been benched and the Falcons fumbled away a lead in the division despite owning a tiebreaker over the Bucs.
There’s still a chance the Falcons can win the NFC South but it’s more of an uphill battle than it should be, or that it was predicted to be. Meanwhile the Bucs have one of the hottest offenses in the NFL, led by a guy who is one the top head coaching candidates in the league.
There’s still a lot of work for the Bucs to do, but the vibes are far more immaculate than we expected given how things were going. Injuries have piled up in a big way and might be what ultimately hold the team back from making a deep run, but for now it’s impossible to not at least put a little respect on their name.
Whether they can parlay that into actual success is yet to be seen.
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