While the Bucs and Cowboys are set to meet on Monday night at Raymond James Stadium to wrap up Super Wild Card Weekend, the schedule for the Divisional Round was set by the NFL on Sunday night.

Due to the No. 6 seed Giants beating the No. 3 seed Vikings on Sunday afternoon, the matchups are already set. As the lowest remaining NFC seed, the Giants will head to play the No. 1 seed Eagles in the NFC Divisional Round, while the No. 2 seed 49ers will host the winner of Monday night’s game between the Bucs and Cowboys. And that game in Santa Clara will be played in the Sunday night slot next weekend, with kickoff scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET. New York and Philadelphia have the Saturday night game, which is set for 6:15 p.m. ET.

Of course, the Bucs and 49ers met back in December, and it yielded disastrous results for Tampa Bay. Brock Purdy, Mr. Irrelevant of the 2022 Draft, made his first career start and finished 16-of-21 for 185 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for a touchdown in San Francisco’s 35-7 win over Tom Brady and the Bucs. Purdy heads into the NFC Divisional Round next weekend with a 6-0 record as the 49ers’ starter after he led the team to a 41-23 win over the Seahawks on Saturday afternoon.

In addition to the Divisional Round schedule being set, the scenarios regarding the path to the Super Bowl for the NFC are also more defined. If the Eagles beat the Giants next weekend, they’ll host the NFC Championship Game against the winner of the 49ers-Bucs/Cowboys game, regardless of which of those three teams emerges from the Divisional Round. But if the Giants pull off the upset, San Francisco, Tampa Bay or Dallas would host them in the NFC Championship Game.

As far as the Bucs are concerned, this is all hypothetical. In fact, it’s not even in their minds at all right now, as the team has to get by the Cowboys first. That will be enough of a challenge.

Bucs-Cowboys Winner Faces Disadvantage Next Weekend

Bucs CB Jamel Dean and LB Lavonte David – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Whoever wins Monday night’s game between the Bucs and Cowboys was already going to be at a disadvantage heading into the second round of the playoffs. Under the “Super Wild Card Weekend” format that the league introduced last year, whoever plays in the Monday Night Football game is already going to have less time to rest than their next opponent. And while Tampa Bay or Dallas playing next Sunday night is better than the alternative of playing on Saturday, the 49ers will have an extra couple of days on either team.

San Francisco beat Seattle in the Super Wild Card Weekend opener this past Saturday afternoon, which means it has a full seven days to prepare for the Divisional Round. Meanwhile, the Bucs or Cowboys will have about five days. There are arguments being made about this coming down to seeding and the fact that No. 4 seed Tampa Bay or No. 5 seed Dallas should’ve won more games if they wanted to avoid being at such a disadvantage against No. 2 seed San Francisco. But it’s not about that.

With the Monday night game on Super Wild Card Weekend, the NFL is after the money. It’s not about the competitive balance or the players and coaches. As Pewter Report alum Jon Ledyard points out, a primetime Monday night game will always outweigh a Saturday afternoon game, and the NFL will take the revenue that comes with that every day of the week and twice on Sunday (or Monday?).

It’s worth mentioning that the Rams played in the inaugural Super Wild Card Weekend Monday Night Football game last year and eventually won the Super Bowl. They beat the Bucs in the Divisional Round, but the way seeding worked out, Tampa Bay only had one extra day given that it played on Sunday as opposed to the two extra days that would’ve come had the team played on Saturday.

Now, none of this is to say that the Bucs or Cowboys can’t go on and beat the 49ers next Sunday night. It’s also not like a 49ers win next Sunday over either team would be the result of having extra time, as San Francisco is good enough on equal rest. But “Super Wild Card Weekend” will continue to result in advantages/disadvantages like this, and that’s unfortunate for the game.