Heading into Week 7 always seems like an intelligent time to start schedule watching. That’s the fan ritual of figuring out your team’s final record just by looking at their upcoming opponents. Never fails, right?

A look at the Bucs' schedule reveals the playoffs should be in the cards.

The Bucs are 4-2 with 10 games to play.

What’s left, in order:

vs. Seattle, @ Dallas, @ Kansas City, BYE, vs Minnesota, @Detroit, vs. New Orleans, @ Carolina, @ Atlanta, vs. San Diego, vs. Oakland

The Bucs are significantly better than  Seattle, Kansas City, Minnesota, Detroit and Oakland. Combined those teams have a miserable 6-20 record. So give Tampa Bay five more wins there, and nine for the season.

Among the remaining five games, the critical stretch is three in a row against division opponents late in the season, vs. New Orleans, @ Carolina and @ Atlanta. If the Bucs win two of those games, they should win the division at 11-5, even with losses at Dallas and home to San Diego.

Joe’s planning for the playoffs, if (big if) Garcia stays healthy for at least the next seven games.