The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-6) lost to the San Francisco 49ers (7-3) 27-14 Sunday and dropped one game below the NFC South division leader, the New Orleans Saints (5-5).
After the disappointing performance against the 49ers, the Bucs have just a 28% chance of making the playoffs according to the New York Times.
Tampa Bay will travel to Indiana this week and take on the Indianapolis Colts (5-5) 1 p.m. Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium. According to ESPN Analytics, the Bucs have a 45% chance of winning in Week 12.
The Colts enter Sunday as winners of their last two contests. Indianapolis took down the New England Patriots 10-6 in Week 11, and defeated the Carolina Panthers 27-13 the week prior.
Sunday’s game isn’t as critical as it might seem, according to the New York Times playoff predictors, but a Bucs’ win would go a long way toward boosting Tampa Bay’s playoff odds. If the Bucs win, their playoff hopes could rise as high as 40% depending on the outcome between the Saints and Falcons. A loss by Tampa Bay drops its odds to around 20%, regardless of the outcomes of its division rivals.
As of Week 13, six of the final seven opponents the Bucs are set to face are at or below .500. The only team above .500 in the upcoming stretch of games is the Jacksonville Jaguars (Week 16).
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