No matter what happened on the scoreboard in Orchard Park on Sunday, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers really couldn't lose when it comes to positioning themselves in the playoff race.
Thanks to a comfortable lead in the NFC South, the Bucs' floor remains the No. 4 seed for the time being, and it's really only up to them to change that. But getting in their own way is slowly becoming a theme for Tampa Bay, and we saw a fair amount of that once again in Week 11.
It was an ugly game if you were hoping for a defensive battle, as the Bucs and Bills exchanged leads nine times before we hit the 10 minute mark of the fourth quarter.
The good news is that there was chaos all over the league, and the Bucs still managed to get by mostly unscathed in the playoff standings, even if it didn't work out that way on the field.
NFL Playoff Picture right now: Buccaneers lose the game but not the battle...yet
The Bucs loss drops them to 6-4 on the season, but not out of the top tier of the playoff picture.
It's a bit concerning that the Bucs aren't dominating everyone in the NFC South and are barely holding onto the No. 4 seed in the NFC, but there's some solace in knowing Tampa Bay is down but not out. That being said, the Panthers' walk-off win over Atlanta means the Bucs' lead in the NFC South has shrunk to just one game, with the possibility of them falling into second place very much on the table for next week.
Here's a look at where things stand after Sunday's action:
*Note: These standings are updated through the result of the Sunday Night Football game*
Playoff Seed | Team | Record |
|---|---|---|
No. 1 | Philadelphia Eagles | 8-2 |
No. 2 | Los Angeles Rams | 8-2 |
No. 3 | Chicago Bears | 7-3 |
No. 4 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 6-4 |
No. 5 | Seattle Seahawks | 7-3 |
No. 6 | Detroit Lions | 6-4 |
No. 7 | Green Bay Packers | 6-3-1 |
If the playoffs started after today, these are what the Wild Card Weekend matchups would look like:
- (2) Los Angeles Rams vs. (7) Green Bay Packers
- (3) Chicago Bears vs. (6) Detroit Lions
- (4) Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. (5) Seattle Seahawks
So while the Bucs didn't fall out of the playoff picture -- and are really in no actual danger of that happening anytime soon -- they failed to make up important ground. The Eagles and Lions paying each other could have opened up a path for the Bucs to move up (Philly won, so it didn't matter, but still), and there's now serious concern about how landing in that No. 4 seed might be more of a curse than anything else.
Right now, Tampa Bay's first-round matchup would be either the Rams or Seahawks, both teams that look like monsters heading into the playoffs based on momentum and factors like Matthew Stafford's MVP-caliber season and the genius of Sean McVay. The Bucs beat Seattle already this season but the Seahawks would love a rematch against a team that's a shell of the one that showed up earlier.
Tampa Bay gets an early look at Los Angeles next Sunday night, which is a game where panic might begin to settle in if things keep trending the way they are. The Bucs are now in the middle of what has become an annual midseason slump, and breaking out of it against the Rams doesn't seem likely.
We've seen the Bucs subvert our expectations this season, but right now they're looking like the sort of sad team that knows it has fumbled away all of its early momentum.