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Panthers’ loss to Packers just gave the Buccaneers a golden opportunity in NFC South

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers can climb back into the NFC South race with a Week 8 win over the Atlanta Falcons after Carolina’s loss to Green Bay.
ByJosh Crysler
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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have. golden opportunity in the NFC South standings.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have. golden opportunity in the NFC South standings. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans doubled as Packers fans this week as Green Bay hosted the Carolina Panthers on Thursday Night Football.

The Packers came through with a 27-19 win over the Panthers, giving the Buccaneers a significant boost in the NFC South race.

If Tampa Bay can take down the Atlanta Falcons in Week 8, they’ll move within a half-game of first place in the division, while holding head-to-head wins over Atlanta and Carolina. There’s no way around it — this is the most important game of the season so far for the Buccaneers. 

Buccaneers can put themselves right back in the NFC South race with a win over the Falcons

After starting 1-5, it seemed inconceivable that Tampa Bay could turn things around and make a playoff push.

But that all changed when the Buccaneers dismantled the first-place Panthers on the road in Week 7 by a score of 43-13, winning their first of six divisional contests. The performance showed that as bad as this Bucs team has been, they can still compete in the lowly NFC South division.

After Carolina’s loss on Thursday night, here’s how things currently stand in the division.

  1. Panthers (3-4)
  2. Falcons (3-4)
  3. Buccaneers (2-5)
  4. Saints (2-5)  

If the Buccaneers beat the Falcons on Sunday, both teams would be 3-5, but Tampa Bay would have the tiebreaker with a head-to-head victory.

Carolina has a brutal remaining schedule — a consequence of coming in first place last season. That gives the Buccaneers a realistic shot to leapfrog the Panthers if they can string together some wins. Their chances will grow even stronger if they can beat Carolina again in Week 12 to pull off the season sweep. 

However, as encouraging as the Bucs’ outlook will be with a win in Week 8, it’ll be just as dreary with a loss.

If the Falcons beat the Buccaneers, they’ll improve to 4-4 and send Tampa Bay down to 2-6, giving Atlanta a two game advantage plus a head-to-head tiebreaker. 

The Athletic’s NFL playoff simulator demonstrates how crucial this game is for Tampa Bay. With a win, the Buccaneers will have a 35% chance of making the playoffs. With a loss, they’ll sink down to just 12%.

The Buccaneers control their own destiny. A win over Atlanta will give them new life in the NFC South playoff race, but a loss could put them in an incredibly difficult hole to get out of.

Tampa Bay needs to bring their “A” game to pull off a pivotal victory and keep their playoff hopes alive.

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