You know the old saying, the enemy of my enemy is my friend? Well on Sunday that frienemy was the Carolina Panthers, who gave the Tampa Bay Buccaneers a huge assist in their quest to get back to the top of the NFC standings.
The Bucs were off on their bye week but didn't need to play a snap in order to move back into a position of strength in the playoff picture. All of it was thanks to Carolina marching up to Green Bay and knocking off the Packers with a walk-off field goal.
It was baffling, objectively hilarious, and another reason for the Bucs to feel good after their bye.
Buccaneers move up in NFC standings thanks to Panthers' upset win over Packers
Coming into Sunday the Bucs were the No. 3 seed in the NFC, with the Packers having taken over the top spot. That came thanks to a gnarly Monday Night Football loss back in Week 7 that saw Tama Bay tumble all the way from that No. 1 seed to the bottom of the division winner tier of the standings.
However, a win over the Saints last moved the Bucs up a spot and they once again move up thanks to the Packers loss.
It's more than just the fact that the Packers lost which should make the Bucs feel good -- it's how they lost. This is now two games against teams Green Bay should have beaten where they've looked totally helpless. Jordan Love was awful, the offense was abysmal, and the Packers once again exposed themselves as a very beatable team.
Of course, while this is great news for the Bucs in terms of getting back within striking distance of controling the No. 1 seed, it's worth acknowledging that the Panthers seems legit. Carolina is now 5-4 with some impressive wins on its resume, including an offensive explosion against the Falcons defense and a win over the Cowboys that seems to have helped fuel the run they're on.
Tampa Bay still has a full two-game lead in the NFC South, but games against Carolina are always challenging, and this year the Panthers are better than we've seen them since Dave Canales took over as head coach.
We can worry about what these two teams look like -- and what the stakes are -- when they meet in late-December. For now, the Panthers helped clear a path for the Bucs to get back to the top of the NFC standings and offered up a much-appreciated assist in Week 9.