The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a chance to get back to .500 on Sunday when they head to Charlotte to take on the 3-8 Carolina Panthers. If the Bucs are able to take care of business against a three-win team, they'll not only be back to .500 on the year but they'll have the same record as the Atlanta Falcons, who fell to the Chargers in Week 13.
The Falcons, who swept the Bucs earlier in the season, were once 6-3 on the year but have lost their last three games. This is great news for the Bucs, who were also on a losing streak but broke theirs a week ago to get back to 5-6.
It won't be good enough for Tampa to have the same record as Atlanta though since the two teams have the same record. The Bucs need to take advantage of their "easier" schedule and pull ahead of the Falcons if they want to win the NFC South.
Falcons lose third straight game, which is great news for Bucs' playoff hopes
According to NFL Next Gen Stats, the Buccaneers have a 47% chance of making the playoffs (at least before the early window games). With a win in Week 13, that percentage jumps up to 57% while the Falcons' playoff chances with their loss dropped from 65% to 62% (likely due to owning the tiebreaker over Tampa).
The good news for the Buccaneers is that they have the easier schedule. They'll face the Panthers twice, the Raiders, Chargers, Cowboys, and Saints. Aside from the Chargers, that's a pretty favorable schedule and the Bucs could realistically get to 10-7. As long as the Falcons lose two more games and the Bucs take care of business on their end, the chances of them winning their fourth straight NFC South title should be high.
It's already easy to root against the Falcons but now it'll be even easier for Bucs fans to root against one of their most hated foes to lose games.