The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are back in the driver's seat in the NFC South race and it just so happens that the final spot in the NFC playoffs belongs to whoever wins the division. The Bucs squandered the lead in Week 16 when they fell to the Cowboys in primetime but fortunately, the Falcons gave the lead right back when they lost to the Commanders on Sunday Night Football.
At first it looked as though the Falcons, who were starting rookie quarterback Michael Penix Jr. for just the second time, might run away with the game, as they got off to a 17-7 early on. The Commanders ended up taking a 21-17 lead in the second half and then were up 24-17, hoping to hold on to punch their ticket to the playoffs.
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Penix helped lead the Falcons down the field and tie things up and nearly had a chance to win the game in regulation thanks to a Commanders penalty. Bucs fans were nervous when Riley Patterson lined up to attempt the game-winning field goal, a 56-yarder that didn't have the distance.
The Commanders got the ball first in overtime, and with the help of some clutch Jayden Daniels runs, managed to win the game without Atlanta ever touching the ball. For Bucs fans, the game was magical. The Falcons losing allowed them to jump back in the driver's seat in the NFC South race and now all they have to do is beat the lowly Saints in Week 18.
You'd think that Bucs head coach Todd Bowles would have been amped when the game concluded, right? Well, Bowles revealed to the media on Monday that he didn't catch the game because he was sleeping and didn't even know about the Falcons' loss until the following morning.
Todd Bowles was fast asleep during Falcons/Commanders overtime thriller
Bowles missed a thrilling game that went back and forth between two rookie quarterbacks and had plenty of playoff implications on the line. Fortunately, Tampa benefitted from the result of this one.
Again, all the Bucs have to do to clinch their fourth straight division title is to take care of business against the five-win New Orleans Saints in Week 18. If they lose and Atlanta wins its game against the Carolina Panthers, the Falcons would win the division thanks to its early-season sweep of the Buccaneers.
If the Bucs do their part and beat the Saints, none of that will matter. Win-and-in.