Here are the Buccaneers playoff chances after beating the Panthers in Week 13

Let's not bury the lede here: the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are back in the thick of the race for an NFC South crown.

Tampa Bay didn't make it easy on themselves with a tough game against the Carolina Panthers in Week 13, but they were able to stay out of their own way long enough to not fumble away momentum. It's momentum that was handed to them by the Los Angeles Chargers, who did the Bucs a huge favor by beating the Atlanta Falcons earlier in the day.

It's a turn of events that doesn't completely flip the standings but it brings us one step close to such a thing happening.

Updated NFL Playoff Picture and NFC Wild Card Standings after Week 13

Atlanta losing earlier in the day was the biggest thing that happened in terms of getting the Bucs a boost in their playoff chances. A loss by the Commanders would have also been nice, but let's not get greedy when Sunday's game against the Panthers is proof positive that beggars can't be choosers when it comes to luck.

For the most part the playoff picture remains the same, although there could be some serious movement in the next few weeks. The NFC North is a tight race between three teams with the Packers and Lions set to play on Thursday and the Vikings getting another shot at both Green Bay and Detroit over the next few weeks.

Here's how things look after Sunday's action:

The Buccaneers are still on the outside of the playoff picture looking in, but they're on the cusp of getting back in. For the time being they're in the thick of the NFC Wild Card race, with a key head-to-head tiebreaker over the Washington Commanders looming large.

NFC Wild Card Standings

• No. 6 Seed: Green Bay Packers (9-3)
• No. 7 Seed: Washington Commanders (8-5)
• 8th: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-6)
• 9th: Arizona Cardinals (6-6)
• 10th: Los Angeles Rams (6-6)
• 11th: San Francisco 49ers (5-6)

Of course, the biggest development of Sunday afternoon was how the Bucs took a massive step toward bypassing the Wild Card race altogether. Atlanta still has a one game lead in the NFC South thanks to owning the tiebreaker over Tampa Bay but the standings could flip next week.

The Falcons get a game against the Minnesota Vikings that is hardly going to be easy, while the Bucs get a potential trap game against a feisty Las Vegas Raiders squad. It would seem the gods favor Tampa Bay in that scenario, although, as we saw on Sunday against the Panthers, nothing is as easy or simple as it seems.

A win next week coupled with another Falcons loss would put the Bucs back in first place. At the very least a win would keep Tampa Bay right on Atlanta's heels, which is not where we thought this team would be earlier in the year.

Still, the Bucs are right back in the playoff race with five games left. Falling into another midseason slump didn't help but just like last year we're seeing that it was hardly fatal and might have been the spark the team needs to turn back into the best version of itself.

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