Predicting Tampa Bay's final four games as the Bucs try to hang onto the NFC South lead

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have rebounded from a rough middle patch of the season and now sit at 7-6 and in front in the NFC South. The Bucs' resurgence paired with the Atlanta Falcons' absolute (hilarious) collapse has now given Tampa the lead in the division and with a favorable schedule to end the year, the odds of them holding onto their lead and making the playoffs have greatly increased.

NFL Next Gen Stats has given the Buccaneers a 71% chance of making the postseason while the Falcons' playoff odds have dropped to 38%. This is great news for Bucs fans and with the good guys controlling their own destiny for the final month of the season, let's go through each game on the schedule and predict how those match-ups might play out.

Week 15 @ Los Angeles Chargers

The toughest game remaining on Tampa's schedule comes this week against the Chargers. When the schedule first dropped, Bucs fans probably dismissed this as an easy win but the Chargers have been one of the most surprising teams in the league this year. Jim Harbaugh turned them into a playoff contender right away and that doesn't bode well for Tampa Bay.

While the Buccaneers are the better team between these two, the better team doesn't always win and we might see that play out here.

Prediction: Bucs 14, Chargers 17

Week 16 @ Dallas Cowboys

After what could be a tough game in Los Angeles, the Bucs would be sitting with a 7-7 record (if my prediction is correct, that is) and needing to get back in the win column to stave off the Falcons. Fortunately, they'll have a good chance of doing just that, as the Buccaneers head to Dallas for their Week 16 match-up.

In the same way that the Chargers have been one of the biggest surprises this year, the Cowboys have been one of the biggest disappointments. Dallas is 5-8 after losing to the Bengals this past weekend and simply put, they're not a good football team. Furthermore, they haven't been good at home, winning just one game at Jerry World's this year.

Tampa's offense should have no problem scoring and the defense should be able to prevent Cooper Rush or whoever is quarterbacking the Cowboys offense from scoring much.

Prediction: Bucs 30, Cowboys 20

More Buccaneers news:

Week 17 vs. Carolina Panthers

The funny thing about NFL schedules is that it's all about when you play a team. For example, if the Buccaneers had played the Panthers earlier in the year, they'd have dominated them from start to finish. Unfortunately, the Bucs didn't get the Panthers on their schedule until Week 13 where it took overtime for Tampa Bay to knock off Carolina.

The two teams meet again in Week 17 and don't be surprised if this one also goes down to the wire. The Panthers might be 3-10 but they're no slouch. Bryce Young has looked better since reclaiming his starting job and the Panthers have given the Chiefs, Buccaneers, and Eagles everything they could handle in their recent match-ups.

While Tampa is the better team here, this won't be a walk in the park. That being said, the Buccaneers should reign supreme in this NFC South battle.

Prediction: Bucs 21, Panthers 20

Week 18 vs. New Orleans Saints

The Buccaneers' final regular-season game comes against the Saints, who are 5-8 and won't have anything to play for in the final game of the season. While Tampa took care of business against New Orleans earlier in the year, that was when the Saints had Dennis Allen at the helm. The Saints canned Allen midway through the season and they've looked a little more respectable since Darren Rizzi took over as their interim head coach.

Hopefully the Buccaneers have the NFC South wrapped up by the time we get to Week 18 and don't need to win this game. Resting players ahead of a grueling wild card game against likely the Vikings would be huge for this team so let's hope this game doesn't mean anything. If the starters play, however, the Bucs should have no problem rolling the Saints in the final game of the season.

Prediction: Bucs 24, Saints 14

If these predictions come true, the Bucs would finish the year at 10-7 and that should be enough to win them their fourth straight NFC South. The Falcons are through their tough portion of their schedule but still have to go up against the Commanders while also having to face the Raiders, Giants, and Panthers to close out the year.

The Bucs need to stay at least one game ahead of Atlanta due to the Falcons owning the head-to-head, so if both teams go 3-1 in their final four games, the advantage goes to Tampa Bay. With how poorly Kirk Cousins has been playing, however, the Falcons don't look threatening so hopefully they drop more than one game to allow Bucs fans to relax a little bit.