But with the Bucs not being in the playoffs yet, how much is at stake in their Week 18 matchup?
In less than 24 hours, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will kick off against their division rival, the New Orleans Saints. That game is one where the Bucs can control their own destiny with a win, a loss would require them to root for other teams to have specific outcomes.
But with the Bucs not being in the playoffs yet, how much is at stake in their Week 18 matchup?
We talked about how they can control their own destiny, and it is very matter-of-fact. A win secures them the NFC South and the fourth seed at minimum in the NFC Playoffs. A loss would mean they need the Atlanta Falcons to lose to the Carolina Panthers, which isn’t likely.
It is almost win or go home for the Bucs. They fought tooth and nail to come back from a 4-6 start to the season. Now they are just 60 minutes away from securing their fourth straight NFC South division title.
The Bucs will face the Saints with control of their own destiny where a win over their division rival earns them a ticket to the dance.
The 2024 NFL season concludes in just three days when the final game, the 272nd of the season, ends between the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings. While they compete for who will earn the number one and five seed, the Bucs are focused on securing their own playoff spot.
The Bucs will face the New Orleans Saints with control of their own destiny, where a win over their division rival earns them a ticket to the dance.
We bring up the Lions and Vikings because if the Bucs win and secure the fourth seed, they are playing the loser of that Sunday Night Football matchup. That would mean they would be facing arguably the second-best team in the conference in the Wild Card round of the playoffs despite winning their division.
The Bucs defeated the Lions in Week 2 this year on the road by a score of 20-16. The Bucs did not face the Vikings this year, so that would be a new test for this team. Either way, the Bucs are staring down the barrel of a tough playoff matchup right off the bat.
A win would propel them and their momentum heading into the divisional round. A loss, well, we all know where that sends any playoff team.
Now, the Bucs need some help from others in the NFL, as the Falcons are back in the driver’s seat.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had control of their destiny heading into Week 16, all they had to do was win out against the Dallas Cowboys, Carolina Panthers, and New Orleans Saints. Their matchup against the Cowboys in Primetime was considered manageable but it proved to be anything but.
Now, the Bucs need some help from others in the NFL, as the Falcons are back in the driver’s seat.
Ironically, despite their records being the same and the Falcons beating the Bucs twice, not all hope is gone. ESPN, in their latest playoff projections, have the Bucs and Falcons each with a 50% chance to win the division and make the playoffs.
Why the even split? Because, at this point, whoever doesn’t win the division is not going to the playoffs.
The Bucs final two games we have discussed, the Falcons have matchups with the Commanders and Cowboys to end the season. Neither of those teams are easy outs so for now, the Bucs have to focus on themselves and hope others throw them a life raft.
With the Bucs firmly in the mix, here’s what the playoff picture in the NFC looks like as it stands.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are sitting pretty atop the NFC South. But other things — including who their potential playoff opponent will be — is up in the air.
As it stands, the win against the Green Bay Packers in Week 15 was huge. With that, the Bucs are essentially playoff bound if they defeat the New Orleans Saints on New Year’s Eve, they’re in — the Bucs have a 92% chance of winning the NFC South even if they do that and lose to both the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Carolina Panthers. Should the Bucs beat the Jaguars and the Saints lose to the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday, though, the team can clinch a playoff berth with a win over either the New Orleans Saints or the Carolina Panthers at the end of the year.
Who the Bucs play is another point of interest. It looks set to be either the Philadelphia Eagles or the Dallas Cowboys, depending on which one of those teams wins the division. If it’s the Cowboys, the Bucs get a rematch from Week 3 against the Philadelphia Eagles — if it’s the Eagles, the Bucs will get a rematch from last year’s wild card with the Dallas Cowboys.
Here is what the current playoff state looks like in the NFC as it stands:
The Bucs are near the top of the pack in the (extremely early) NFC playoff picture:
It’s early in the season, but so far, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are impressing in the National Football Conference heading into their bye week.
The team not only stands above its division in the NFC South with a 3-1 record, but they also currently hold the No. 3 seed in the entire NFC playoff picture and are the highest-ranked team with a loss, standing only under the Philadelphia Eagles and the San Francisco 49ers. The Bucs will have a tough game coming out of the bye, as they’ll play the No. 4-seeded Detroit Lions in Week 6.
Here is what the (extremely early) playoff picture looks like:
Check out what the current NFC standings look like and which teams are still in the mix.
Week 14 begins tonight with a Thursday night game between the Los Angeles Rams and Las Vegas Raiders. That game will have no impact on the NFC playoff picture.
The Rams are on the edge of elimination and the Raiders are in the AFC.
But before the games start in Week 14, let’s look at the NFC playoff picture.
Check out the latest edition of the show breaking down all that is going on with the Arizona Cardinals. It’s the best hour of Cardinals talk on the Web.
The Arizona Cardinals have clinched a spot in the NFL playoffs and the latest edition of the podcast talks about it. With Seth Cox away for the holidays, Revenge of the Birds podcast host Blake Murphy joined me on the show to talk about all that has been going on with the Cardinals.
We recorded the show on Tuesday night after the news of the passing of John Madden, so we began the show reminiscing about Madden from each of our perspectives. I, many years old than Blake, still remember his broadcaster days.
After that, we talk about how the Cardinals made the playoffs and whether it mattered. Did they back in? We break down the loss to the Colts, discuss what has to change in the final two games of the regular season, go over how the Cardinals can still win the division and then preview their Week 17 game against the Dallas Cowboys.
A big thanks to Blake for stepping in. Enjoy the show!
Enjoy the show with the embedded player above or by subscribing to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform, so you never miss a show. Make sure as well to give it a five-star rating!
Here are the timestamps for our different topics of the show.
(1:00) Intros and remembering John Madden
(6:54) Does it matter how the Cardinals made the postseason?
(18:32) What happened against the Colts?
(34:47) What do the Cardinals need to change in the final two games of the regular season?
(41:55) How can the Cardinals still win the NFC West?
The Cardinals need a win to clinch a postseason berth. There are six other ways to do it, but beating the Colts is the best way to go.
The Arizona Cardinals find themselves in a win-and-you’re-in scenario for the postseason for the third straight week. Able to clinch a playoff berth for the first time since 2015 each of the last two weeks with a win and failing to do so, they are in the same scenario in Week 16.
If they beat the Indianapolis Colts Saturday night, they lock in a postseason spot. It would be a relief for them to do it, as they are 0-4 over the last two seasons in playoff-clinching scenarios.
Last season, needing just one win over the final two games, they lost consecutive games to the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams, going against backup quarterbacks.
This season, they lost a close Monday night game to the Rams 30-23 and then were embarrassed on the road against the Detroit Lions 30-12. The Lions had only one win all season entering that game.
Now they must do it against the 8-6 Colts, who have won five of their lats six games and have the best player in the NFL right now, running back Jonathan Taylor.
It is not the only way the Cardinals can clinch a playoff spot. There are six other possible and also plausible scenarios.
Even if they lose on Saturday, they will earn a playoff birth if there is:
An Eagles loss or tie against the Giants and a 49ers loss to the Titans.
An Eagles loss or tie with the Giants and a Vikings loss or tie with the Rams (although this would give the Rams the division lead).
An Eagles loss or tie with Giants and a Saints loss or tie with the Dolphins.
A Vikings loss or tie with the Rams and a 49ers loss to the Titans.
A Vikings loss or tie with the Rams and a Saints loss or tie with Dolphins.
A Saints loss or tie with the Dolphins and a 49ers loss to the Titans.
Obviously, the way we want the Cardinals to clinch is with a win. That takes care of everything else and maintains their lead in the division, no matter what the Rams do against the Vikings.
Plus, it would help stop the ugly narrative about the Cardinals being a bad team in December.
Getting to the playoffs is the goal. But backing in is not the way the team should have done it, especially with the start of the season they had.
After an awful 30-12 loss by the Arizona Cardinals to the Detroit Lions in Week 15, it appears they are falling apart like they did at the end of last season.
They are still in the lead in the NFC West, but the loss raises questions as to whether the Cardinals will win another game this season.
In this edition of the podcast, Revenge of the Birds’ Seth Cox and I give our level of panic regarding the Cardinals and their season. We also go over what went wrong in Detroit, where they stand in the NFC West race and preview their Week 16 Christmas game against the Indianapolis Colts.
Enjoy the show!
Enjoy the show with the embedded player above or by subscribing to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform, so you never miss a show. Make sure as well to give it a five-star rating!
Below are the approximate timestamps for the topics we discussed.
(1:00) Is it time to panic?
(12:39) What went wrong against the Lions?
(31:45) What do they have to do to win the NFC West still?
