Time to talk about the playoff hunt.
This year there will be 7 teams per conference, 4 division leaders and 3 Wildcards. Only one bye team.
The Bucs, if they can continue their winning ways, can contend for the bye. There are no undefeated teams in the NFC.
NFC North: The best record is the Packers at 5-1. The Pack is a good but not great team who the Bucs already beat. The Bears, well I would prefer not to face Khalil Mack again. But they are really struggling on offense. I don't see them busting out with a 12 or 13 win season.
NFC South: The Saints still would be the favorite to get the bye, but they are 4-2 and have outscored their opponents 180 to 174 points (without Thomas). That means they have outscored their opponents by one point per game on average. By contrast the Bucs have outscored their opponents by 80 points, the highest margin in the NFL.
NFC East: Wow what a train wreck.
NFC West: I guess they need to be included. The bad news is they are all good. The good news is.... they are all good. They will beat each other up. That's what it comes down to there. Seattle and Arizona are the ones who might contend for the bye. But Seattle hasn't been blowing teams out. Arizona is looking good.
So to sum up the bye team race, there aren't any dominant teams in the NFC, and that bye week is up for grabs between about half a dozen teams, and the Bucs have to be at the top of the list of contenders taking a snapshot right now.
As for getting a wild card. There are three wildcards. Lets say theoretically the division winners are the Saints, Seahawks and Packers. That leaves the Bears, Bucs, Cardinals, Niners and Rams, 5 teams to fight for 3 spots.
The Bucs have a favorable schedule. Even if they lose to the Saints, Chiefs and Rams, the rest of the schedule is against mediocre competition. They should be able to pull out 11-5 at the least.
