There's no way to sugarcoat it: the Tampa Bay Buccaneers fumbled away a golden opportunity to start putting away the NFC South and shoring up a playoff spot. Heading into Sunday night's game, the Bucs had an over-90 percent chance of making the postseason, but the loss to Dallas sinks them to under 50 percent -- a number that seems more daunting than it really is.
Still, the Bucs controlled their own destiny and had things perfectly lined up for yet another division title to be secured. That's not off the table but the path got much muddier thanks to how the team once again got in its own way.
The Cowboys had no business looking as good as they did on Sunday night, but a depleted Bucs defense made Cooper Rush look like Troy Aikman and a faltering offense was eaten alive by Dallas.
Perhaps the primetime lights were a bit too bright, but now the Bucs find themselves squinting to try and see a way forward that still leads them to the playoffs.
Buccaneers still have a clear spot in the NFL Playoff Picture despite loss to Cowboys
One thing that would have helped the Bucs out a lot on Sunday was if the New York Giants could have pulled off an upset win over the Atlanta Falcons. That didn't happen and the loss in Dallas means Tampa Bay has seced control of the NFC South back to their rival.
Atlanta owns a full tiebreaker over Tampa Bay, which is what has flipped the Falcons back into first place. It's also knocked the Bucs out of the playoff picture -- for now -- thanks to the Commanders win comeback win over Philadelphia.
Here's how things stack up after Week 16:
Playoff Seed | Team | Record |
|---|---|---|
No. 1 | Detroit Lions | 13-2 (Clinched) |
No. 2 | Philadelphia Eagles | 12-3 (Clinched) |
No. 3 | Los Angeles Rams | 9-6 |
No. 4 | Atlanta Falcons | 8-7 |
No. 5 | Minnesota Vikings | 13-2 (Clinched) |
No. 6 | Green Bay Packers | 10-4 |
No. 7 | Washington Commanders | 10-5 |
The Bucs still have two clear paths into the playoffs, but they complicated things by losing to the Cowboys on Sunday night. Even with how emabrrassing the loss was, Tampa Bay can be right back in first place next week and regain control of the NFC South with a win and a Falcons loss.
What works in their favor is Atlanta playing on the road in Washington under the same Sunday Night Football lights that blinded the Bucs in Week 16. If the Falcons go into Landover and win on the heels of Tampa Bay blowing an opportunity to move closer to clinching the division, then perhaps that says alot.
However, the odds are still in the Bucs' favor to win the NFC South. Tampa Bay closes out the season against Carolina and New Orleans, both of which will be home games. While they don't techincally control their destiny right now, the Bucs hold more cards than it feels like after what happened in Dallas.
The other way the Bucs can sneak into the playoffs is as the Wild Card, but that would require far more help than they're likely to get. Tampa Bay would need the Commanders to lose out which would mean losses to the Falcons and Cowboys.
That's a lot to ask for, and only further highlights what a massive blown opportunity Sunday night was. The season is far from over, though, and the Bucs head into next weekend with what feels like one final shot to save their season and get things back on track.
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