It was a chaotic Sunday across the NFL, something that seeped into Monday night as well. Denver pulled off a road upset over the Bills thanks to another miserable performance by Buffalo that included a penalty that negated a missed kick at the end of the game.
Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory doesn’t get any more frustrating than that.
For the first time in four weeks, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers didn’t have to deal with that. The Bucs took care of business rather decisively on Sunday, destroying the Titans 20-6 and looking like the dominant team they were earlier in the season in the process.
Everything that was going wrong went right, from the defense smothering Will Levis all afternoon with a ferocious pass rush to the offense finding some rhythm. Mike Evans went for 143 yards and a touchdown, Baker Mayfield hit Rachaad White on a 43-yard score, and the Bucs are now right back in the thick of the NFL Playoff Picture as a result.
Updated NFC Playoff Picture after Week 10
Here’s how things look in the NFC now that another week of action in the books:
1. Eagles (8-1)
2. Lions (7-2)
3. 49ers (6-3)
4. Saints (5-5)
5. Seahawks (6-3)
6. Cowboys (6-3)
7. Vikings (6-4)
The Buccaneers are the vey first team on the outside of the bubble looking in, but have two different paths to getting back into the picture.
New Orleans holds just a half-game lead over the the Bucs in the NFC South, and goes on its bye week next Sunday. That means if Tampa Bay can pull off an upset over San Francisco, it would reclaim sole possession of the division.
Tampa Bay also trails Minnesota for the final Wild Card spot by just one game, and holds a tiebreaker over the Vikings thanks to a Week 1 win.
Losing four of the last five games didn’t do the Bucs any favors, but it hardly ended the season.
Updated AFC Playoff Picture after Week 10
Over in the AFC there’s some pretty interesting chaos starting to break out.
Kansas City is the only sure-thing at this point, but everything else is completely up for grabs. The Ravens lost but moved into the No. 2 seed thanks to a loss by the Jaguars. Cleveland and Pittsburgh are both playoff teams as well, meaning three of the four AFC North teams would be in if the postseason started today.
Good thing it doesn’t, at least for the Bengals and Bills. Both teams are currently on the outside looking in, something that is due in large part to the Houston Texans doing an about face and surging thanks to rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud.
1. Chiefs (7-2)
2. Ravens (7-3)
3. Jaguars (6-3)
4. Dolphins (6-3)
5. Steelers (6-3)
6. Browns (6-3)
7. Texans (5-4)
Who knew that the Bucs loss to the Texans would age better than the loss to Buffalo?