Door Opens Wide For The No. 5 Playoff Seed
December 20th, 2020
The football gods were miraculously giving to the Bucs today.
The biggest upset of the NFL season, one of the biggest in history, was a special gift to Tampa Bay.
The winless freakin’ Jets rolled into Los Angeles and beat the Rams 23-20.
Now the Rams are 9-5 just like the Bucs. Yeah, the Rams own the head-to-head tiebreaker edge on Tampa Bay for a wild card berth and currently hold the coveted No. 5 seed. But the Rams head to Seattle (10-4) next weekend and close the season hosting the Cardinals (8-6). The Bucs finish at the sad Lions and at home for the bumbling Falcons.
There’s now a damn good chance the Bucs will finish ahead of the Rams and lock down that No. 5 seed. That wasn’t the case this morning.
Joe is fired up. The No. 5 seed will play the NFC East champ. Washington lost today and leads the division at 6-8, while the Cowboys are the hottest team at 5-9, riding a two-game winning streak with the easiest remaining schedule. The Giants (5-8) host the Browns tonight.
Joe would much rather face any NFC East team in Round 1 of the playoffs. The reason is simple. They are all teams with subpar quarterbacks.
December 20th, 2020 at 8:17 pm
That was a crazy game indeed, and it’s nice kC beat NO too. Now if the Bucs could only play a complete four quarters. Any other team would have beaten them today. I’ll take the win for sure, but they don’t have it together.
December 20th, 2020 at 8:20 pm
Skins d would be a tough matchup for us. They get good pressure with a 4 man rush
December 20th, 2020 at 8:21 pm
I was watching the end of the Jets-Rams game on my phone while watching the Chiefs-Saints game on TV. Not only do the BUCS have a reasonable chance of getting the No. 5 seed, they now have a slim chance of winning the Division. If the Saints lose both of their final two games and the Bucs win both of theirs, the Bucs will finish 11-5 and the Saints 10-6. I know it’s a long shot, but this has been a crazy year. Right now we just need to make sure we win out and then see where the chips fall.
December 20th, 2020 at 8:21 pm
That would be pretty sweet to play the NFC least, it would almost be like a continuation of our easy last three games (that we better win)
December 20th, 2020 at 8:25 pm
I like the way you are thinking Joe.
Win the next game is the only thing that they have control over… and hopefully they will have a little more control over the win
December 20th, 2020 at 8:28 pm
Saints play the Vikings and panthers … division is still a possibility
December 20th, 2020 at 8:31 pm
It’s like the Bucs come out with no plan, wait to see what the other team is gonna do. And then they adjust on both offense and defense to exploit the opponents’ tendencies. It’s awful. Don’t these guys watch opponents’ film beforehand?
December 20th, 2020 at 8:32 pm
Bucs defense sucks. Even if they make the playoffs the offense and defense start very slow. SMB is gonna lose a game all by himself.
December 20th, 2020 at 8:35 pm
What’s all this talk about inconsistency? The Bucs are now consistently awful in the first half.
December 20th, 2020 at 8:40 pm
Bad “Commish” joke, JP. We all have our demons. We’ve all made mistakes.
His Family is most likely permanently ruined (ponder that if you’re a Father) and his career is shot.
Hopefully, there were no victims.
December 20th, 2020 at 8:40 pm
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️this team!!!! I told my boy at half, WE’RE A SECOND HALF TEAM!!! WE WILL WIN!!!!!!!!!!!! LFG!!!!!!!!!!!
December 20th, 2020 at 8:47 pm
what happens if the rams beat seattle next week and tampa wins we are all rams seattle and tampa 10-4 would tampa then win the number 5 seed if they win last game vs atlanta no matter who they tie with seattle or rams ?
December 20th, 2020 at 8:55 pm
All you need to see is the Jets beating the Rams in LA to understand that no team is a cakewalk…….so…..concentrate on the Lions……they will be looking hard for an upset.
December 20th, 2020 at 8:58 pm
Did I mention I ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ This team!!!! GO BUCS!!!!! So proud of these boys, best 2nd half team in the league!!!!! Keep it up, figure out the 1st half and it’s a wrap!!! Devin White, JOE… I wanted DE too but this kid is the next Luke Kuechly💪💪💪💪💪💪
December 20th, 2020 at 8:58 pm
Yes you do Jason, yes you do indeed.
December 20th, 2020 at 8:59 pm
I am still in utter disbelief that the Jets beat the Rams, at home!
Plus, it was fun watching the Saints lose to the Chiefs.
December 20th, 2020 at 9:01 pm
Lol if the saints lose out and bucs win out that’s even better lol.
December 20th, 2020 at 9:10 pm
Joe, if the Bucs and Rams both win and finish 11-5 then the Rams would win the NFC West and the Bucs would have the 5th seed anyway. The Rams winning out would mean beating the Seahawks and owning the tiebreaker on them that would clinch the division.
December 20th, 2020 at 9:11 pm
This is one of the best and worst NFL teams I have ever seen.
December 20th, 2020 at 9:19 pm
I’ll second that Cobraboy.
The Bucs team I watched in the first half got whooped by the Saints 38-3.
The Bucs team I watched in the second half stomped the Packers 38-10.
Question is … which team will show up for the playoffs?
December 20th, 2020 at 9:21 pm
Damn, that killed my suicide pool but there were only 3 of us left, hopefully the other 2 guys took the Lambs as well!
December 20th, 2020 at 9:23 pm
Man we just have to clean up our first half game play these last two games. We’re not kicking ass but we do just enough to get the job done🏴☠️🏴☠️.
December 20th, 2020 at 9:33 pm
Like Bruce said “We can do anything we want!” … So why can’t we do it the WHOLE FRIGGIN GAME!!!!!!!
December 20th, 2020 at 9:33 pm
Bucs win out they get #5 seed. Seattle and Rams play next week. (Rams win and they lead West and Bucs take over 5 from Seattle, Seahawks win and they lead West and then Bucs have better record than Rams).
Of course none of this means squat if they don’t come out and play for 2 halves and take care of business against inferior teams.
December 20th, 2020 at 9:50 pm
If the Bucs coaching staff is as “tough” as they think they are, then next week I want to see Sean Murphy Bunting on the sidelines in street clothes like they did to Fournette.
Send a message. We really can’t find someone better than this? He’s a liability.
December 20th, 2020 at 10:13 pm
I’m surprised no one has mentioned (unless I missed it) that a major difference in that 2nd half was going to primarily a shotgun formation without Brady taking snaps directly under center. He seems to do better under shotgun.
December 20th, 2020 at 10:14 pm
Good post JBF!
I agree with others here…
Focus on beating the Lions, Stafford can destroy this defense on any given Sunday.
Hopefully the offense can pounce early, make the Detroit roster contemplate “business decisions” and put the Lions away quickly.
The Falcons are awful but they’ll be looking for revenge and the Den of Depression remains a neutral field.
Whatever the case, the Bucs must end 2020 strong for the confidence of the players and fans.
2021 may be the last real shot we see for a while.
December 20th, 2020 at 10:21 pm
Win the next 2 and it doesnt matter what seattle or rams do. Tampa has the #5 spot with 2 wins. Win the next 2 and you play NFC east. Thats better than winning division and playing one of the wildcard teams.
December 20th, 2020 at 10:38 pm
Justin P,
That is terrible…..but kinda funny too.
What happened to that dude?
December 20th, 2020 at 10:53 pm
Careful what you wish for, Joe.
While their QBs might be below average, their defenses are not! NY and WAS are both pretty good defensively.
And what is our record against good defenses this year?
Oh yeah, an incredible 1 – 4 !
Just sayin…
December 20th, 2020 at 11:05 pm
Whoever that first comment is should be banned for life.
December 20th, 2020 at 11:06 pm
Joe, what do the Saints losing mean to us?
December 20th, 2020 at 11:08 pm
Kinda funny
You saying
“Careful what you wish for”
December 20th, 2020 at 11:11 pm
The comeback was great & the team should be applauded for digging out of the mess they created in the 1st half.
December 20th, 2020 at 11:18 pm
We gonna Superbowl
We gonna Superbowl
We gonna Superbowl
December 20th, 2020 at 11:36 pm
Buccaneer Bonzai Says:
“Joe, what do the Saints losing mean to us?”
Bonzai…the Bucs still have a shot at winning the division if the Saints lose their final two and the Bucs win out.
December 20th, 2020 at 11:41 pm
It’s also still possible the Bucs take the division, which would be funny as all.
December 20th, 2020 at 11:42 pm
The real question is !!!!!
Will Realist keep up with his shtick into next season when Arians is STILL the coach?
Go Bucs!!!!!
December 21st, 2020 at 12:14 am
Buc1987, thanks!
December 21st, 2020 at 12:41 am
@87- we won’t know until we lose again, cuz that’s the only time he shows up!
December 21st, 2020 at 12:51 am
Since the Rams lost, there is a very small chance of the Bucs getting the #1 overall seed if they win out… and the Saints lose out, and the Packers lose out, and the Seahawks lose out. That sounds like a lot, but it’s not out of the question. The Packers play the Titans and Bears – it’s possible they could lose those. The Saints play the Vikings and Panthers – much less likely they’d lose those, but I could see the Vikings winning and when it’s a road game in a division anything can happen. For the Seahawks they play the Rams and 49ers – who give them fits. We’d also need the Rams to lose the Cardinals, again, certainly possible.
So a small chance, but it could happen. The Bucs lose all the tie breakers at 11-5, mostly – except in this one scenario.
However the Bucs also lose the tie-breaker with the Bears if they end up 9-7, so the Bucs need to win at least one game to get in.
The other best case would be to get the 5 seed, but end up playing the Cowboys – the Redskins are a terrible matchup and with Rivera there, I don’t like it. The Cowboys meanwhile, if they snuck in somehow, that would be the team everyone in the NFC would want to play – on the road or not.
December 21st, 2020 at 12:52 am
can we just get ME13 221 more yards this year or what !!!
December 21st, 2020 at 8:37 am
Thanks to Brady.
December 21st, 2020 at 1:34 pm
While I agree with you on the quarterbacks, the Football Team from Washington scares the hell out of me the way they go after the QB. I know the Seahawks handled them but Wilson is not the statue in the pocket QB that Brady is. Im not sure if we have beaten a team this year with a fierce pass rush and the Redskins have that.
December 21st, 2020 at 2:45 pm
Joe,
Peter Schraeger and TBT writer Rick Stroud are somehow claiming if Bucs win out they will own the number 5 seed. Am I crazy, or is that nonsense? I figured as you are writing here that TB would need to finish ahead of the Rams record wise to secure that seed. Thanks for any clarification.
December 22nd, 2020 at 9:33 am
as a 6 decade long fan, let me give y’all a history lesson. In case you’ve been under a rock the last 20 yrs, you don’t need to be reminded of what Tommy Boy is capable of. EXCEPT SB 51. behind 28-3 with approx 2 min left in the 3rd qtr. There is probable no other QB with ANY combination of talent that could have done that. No Mahomes wasn’t around then haha. NEXT a couple yrs ago the Patriots lost 5 games one of which was the lowly Lions. NOT ONE of thoses 5 teams made the playoffs. Wanna guess what else happened that same year? BINGO! They won the SuperBowl. If curly Larry and Moe would just hand Tompa the damn keys, we wouldn’t even be talking about a wildcard possibilities. More than likely we would be 13-1
December 22nd, 2020 at 10:37 am
If the slow starting, inconsistent bucs can lose to the Superbowl favorite chiefs by only 3, i have a lot of faith.
December 23rd, 2020 at 12:13 pm
Looking at the math yesterday, if the Bucs win out, the #5 seed is 100% a lock, no matter what any other teams do. Even if Rams beat Seattle, Bucs would have same record and same conference wins as Seattle, and would win the common games tie breaker (Falcons, Rams, Giants, Vikings). So as long as we can hold it together for two more games, we should be able to get our first playoff win since Super Bowl XXXVII.