The truth is that this team is in a funk but winning helps shake it. Lets see if they can focus and move on next week against the Saints. Sweeping the Saints or Falcons is a must happen even if the Bucs want a chance at the division title again. Best case scenario Bucs split with Carolina which makes the Dolphins match up a must win.
Think if Bucs beat Saints and Falcons, they can clinch with a win against Panthers
Bucs are 7-5. With 2 wins, would be 4-0 in division and 9-5 overall.
Panthers are 7-6, assuming a win over the Saints 3-1 in division, and 8-6
a win versus Carolina gets Bucs to 10 wins and 5-1 so even losing the Dolphins game doesn't mater as Bucs would be 10-7 and 5-1 in division
Panthers, best case, would be 10-7 and 4-2 in the division. And this would assume a win over the Seahawks.
so really will come down to the Bucs. Can they beat the Saints and Falcons (in prime time) at Raymond James? They should....but will depend if they trip over their dicks.
i think Bucs will win next 2 and as you know we can't have too much of a win streak so will lose to the Panthers in Charlotte and be 9-6
The Panthers will be 9-6 as well assuming a win over Saints
so yeah, we will be bighting our nails
Ironically the week 17 matchup of Bucs versus Dolphins or Panthers versus Seattle will not matter in this scenario
Bucs will be 9-7 or 10-6 and the Panthers will be 9-7 or 10-6
Most expect Bucs to beat Dolphins and Seahawks to beat Panthers but in this scenario it will come down to the Bucs - Panthers match-up in Raymond James in week 18
A Bucs win and they are 10-7 or 11-6 while the Panthers would be 10-7 or 9-8. At 10-7, Bucs would own division tie breaker
A Bucs loss and they are 10-7 or 9-8 while the Panthers are 10-7 or 11-6. At 10-7, Panthers would own division tiebreaker with sweep of the Bucs
so yeah, to make it easy Bucs can clinch in week 16 but who the fuck are we kidding, we all know it will come down to that final week 18
The truth is that this team is in a funk but winning helps shake it. Lets see if they can focus and move on next week against the Saints. Sweeping the Saints or Falcons is a must happen even if the Bucs want a chance at the division title again. Best case scenario Bucs split with Carolina which makes the Dolphins match up a must win.
Think if Bucs beat Saints and Falcons, they can clinch with a win against Panthers
Bucs are 7-5. With 2 wins, would be 4-0 in division and 9-5 overall.
Panthers are 7-6, assuming a win over the Saints 3-1 in division, and 8-6
a win versus Carolina gets Bucs to 10 wins and 5-1 so even losing the Dolphins game doesn't mater as Bucs would be 10-7 and 5-1 in division
Panthers, best case, would be 10-7 and 4-2 in the division. And this would assume a win over the Seahawks.
so really will come down to the Bucs. Can they beat the Saints and Falcons (in prime time) at Raymond James? They should....but will depend if they trip over their dicks.
I agree the Bucs are in the driver seat. In past seasons the Bucs were road warriors but so far this year they are averaging more points at home than away if I see my numbers right.
Biggest challenge is for the defense to not rely on turnovers to slow teams down. But keep in mind that Bowles defenses that tend to generate a lot of turnovers tend to win more games which is true for any football team. Current Bucs defensive team has 11 INTs so far on the year which compared to previous Bucs team is very good given how many games are left in the season.
Here is how it looks if we compare to previous seasons for Bucs defensive total team INTs:
2024: 17 games, 7 INTs , .411 INT/game
2023: 17 games, 13 INTs, .765 INT/game
2022: 17 games, 10 INTs, .588 INT/game
2021: 17 games, 17 INTs, 1.00 INT/game
2020: 16 games, 15 INTs, .938 INT/game
2019: 16 games, 12 INTs, 0.75 INT/game
Right now with 12 games played this season and 11 INTs, .917 INT/game
This rate of interceptions per game is on par with the 2020 and 2021 seasons respectively for this current Bucs defense. If they can keep that pace the Bucs will win more games down the stretch. Having Reddick and Kancey back helps too because being without 2 out of 3 top pass rushers on the team is rough for any defense.
On offense, the Bucs offense needs to start quick and build leads to help the defense make opposing offenses one dimensional and force turnovers. This is the path to victory for the divisional title for the Bucs by playing complimentary football.
Let's not forget special teams...letting a team like Buffalo run back kickoffs to the 40-midfield does not bode well for the O or D.
Most of us were screaming for Bowles to kick it out of the fucking end zone during the game day thread.
Let's not forget special teams...letting a team like Buffalo run back kickoffs to the 40-midfield does not bode well for the O or D.
Most of us were screaming for Bowles to kick it out of the fucking end zone during the game day thread.
Special teams has been brutal
nearly lost us the Jets game. Definitely lost us the Bills game and would argue the Eagles game.
football is a game of inches and one would think an acceptable special teams is just a non-factor....doesn't impact the game but our field position game and magnificent ability to have field goals and punts blocked is like no other.
let's hope it doesn't rear it's ugly head against tough opponents come playoff time
