Buccaneers’ Playoff Road Got Easier
December 5th, 2022
The Bucs have had their share of pain this season in the form of injuries and odd distractions, but it’s hard to argue that Tampa Bay hasn’t gotten its share of good breaks.
Just look at the NFC South. Carolina, Atlanta and New Orleans lose, lose and lose some more. And those team have had major injuries and issues.
Carolina (4-8) is trying to tank and just cut Baker Mayfield. Atlanta (5-8) lost beastly tight end Kyle Pitts to injury and Cordarrelle Patterson spent time on injured reserve, and now they’re likely to turn to rookie third-round pick Desmond Ritter at quarterback before they play the Bucs in the season finale. Throw in the Saints being poorly coached and a shell of their former selves.
It’s all come together beautifully for the Bucs’ postseason hopes. And it got better yesterday with the 49ers losing starter/backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to a season-ending broken foot. When the Bucs face San Francisco in six short days, it’ll be rookie seventh-round pick Brock Purdy at quarterback.
Joe can’t wait to see Purdy’s face when Todd Bowles’ defense confuses the hell out of him after hopefully slowing the 49ers’ running game.
If the Bucs can find a “W” tonight against New Orleans, one could make a case that Tampa Bay has a solid shot at finishing 10-7.
But will they win tonight? A loss to the slimy Saints probably sends even the big Bucs optimist burying his head in a Clearwater Beach dune.
December 5th, 2022 at 10:32 am
“Throw in the Saints being poorly coached and a shell of their former selves.”
Same can be said for the Bucs.
December 5th, 2022 at 10:33 am
Let’s get through tonight first….
December 5th, 2022 at 10:36 am
Jimmy G out for the season means nothing for the Bucs. We are one of teams noted for gettin beatdown by backups. Matter of fact, out odds of losing go up when we face backups. No team deserved to be in any kind of playoffs with a losing record. Most of you agree but are afraid to say it. So I’m saying it for you.
December 5th, 2022 at 10:38 am
Tonight’s game is no gimme. Cleveland and Carolina SHOULD have been gimmes!
December 5th, 2022 at 10:42 am
Steelers was another Gimme game
December 5th, 2022 at 10:45 am
With a win they pave their way to a division title and a home playoff game. With a loss, the chance of Bowles and/or Leftwich being canned quickly goes up exponentially. A loss might actually be better since they’ll still be in 1st place. Either way, the Bucs win tonight!
December 5th, 2022 at 10:46 am
As bad as this season has been, as of today, if season ended, we are division winners and in playoffs. That’s a source of optimism.
However, my source of pessimism stems from the fact that we have been playing terrible football in all but 3 games, and we are so inconsistent that I just don’t know WHICH team will show up for each game. It’s hard to be optimistic, but I’m trying!!
GO BUCS!!!
December 5th, 2022 at 10:52 am
I don’t want to look ahead. The Bucs need to take it one game at a time and right now we have a contest for the worst coached team of the year.
Is Bowles worse than Allen or is it the other way around?
December 5th, 2022 at 10:53 am
Joe – Hope you are right about our D confusing Purdy. But the Bucs track record against rookie QBs isn’t terrific. And Purdy was a pretty good and heady QB for the cyclones. Better watch out there in SF. After the win tonight.
December 5th, 2022 at 10:54 am
More like 7-10. But that may win this Clown Division.
December 5th, 2022 at 11:03 am
I don’t think Jimmy G is a big deal. The 9er defense is the real deal. This year.
December 5th, 2022 at 11:09 am
Trevor Simeon, PJ Walker, Zak Wilson, Taylor Hill, Heinike, Wentz, Brissett, Trubinsky, Winsten, they may not have lost to all of them but they sure did make them look good. Means NOTHING!
December 5th, 2022 at 11:10 am
Joe can’t wait to see Purdy’s face when Todd Bowles’ defense confuses the hell out of him after hopefully slowing the 49ers’ running game.. like Phillip Walker, Mitch Trubisky and Kenny Pickett ? Ugh… We always seem to get excited about playing against other teams back ups and then ….
December 5th, 2022 at 11:22 am
Are coaching isnt any better wouldnt be talking shizz about that
December 5th, 2022 at 11:36 am
And then get blown out in the wild card by the Cowboys.
Bucs will make the playoffs because the division is probably the weakest it has ever been since its inception. But this team goes absolutely nowhere in the postseason.
December 5th, 2022 at 12:06 pm
Playoffs?
We’re talking about playoffs?
Playoffs?
I am so disgusted with Bowles and Leftwich, I’ll root against them in the playoffs, if they make it.
December 5th, 2022 at 12:14 pm
Todd Bowles as Bucs head coach has been the only thing that has been the only thing that has slowed Tom Brady and the Bucs offense. Bowles blew our trip to the Super Bowl when he blitz Stafford and left Kupp wide open. At that very moment they should have known not to make him a head coach. It hasn’t gotten any better since
December 5th, 2022 at 12:15 pm
How exciting!!! The easier the better. Maybe all of the teams will end up with Covid at the same time a we be the Super Bowl champs by default. Sorry for being so facetious, I just hate this ‘easier’ mentality.
December 5th, 2022 at 12:21 pm
I don’t know how we can get to 10 wins. This team just doesn’t give the effort they had the last two years. Bring someone in to motivate them before the games.
December 5th, 2022 at 12:27 pm
MartyB is right. We always seem to get embarrassed by backups and rookies. Didn’t Daniel Jones get the moniker “Danny Dimes” from playing against us? Same with Taylor Heinicke. We make bad quarterbacks look good.
December 5th, 2022 at 12:29 pm
The 49ers will still beat the Bucs like a drum.
December 5th, 2022 at 12:30 pm
We should be concerned with any team until we prove otherwise. We lost to Trubisky/Pickett, an XFL quarterback, and Brissett. We also lost to a garbage Packers team.
We have to score to win. Maybe, just maybe flatbrim can pull his head from his clipper.
December 5th, 2022 at 12:31 pm
The Bucs have fared so well against rookie QB’s…
December 5th, 2022 at 12:32 pm
The fact we will be facing a no-name rookie QB has me MORE scared than Jimmy G. We have such a bad history with rookies.
December 5th, 2022 at 12:41 pm
Joe, I like the optimism but the Bucs are going to have to prove they know how to win. They play crappy agains the Saints, the 49’ers may have the best defense in football and we can’t score more than 20 points a game. Don’t get excited about a rookie QB playing the Bucs. We got beat by Cleveland with a career backup and the Steelers with a rookie QB and a career backup.
December 5th, 2022 at 1:05 pm
6-11 into the playoffs and win the Super Bowl, LFG
December 5th, 2022 at 1:17 pm
Playoffs! Bucs win the division with 8 wins and then get destroyed by Washington in the 1st round. That playing out gets Bowles fired, thankfully.
December 5th, 2022 at 1:28 pm
LOL, cuz the Bucs always play so well against unproven backup QBs…
Oh wait, no, this is the team that can make any scrub look like a total all pro.
December 5th, 2022 at 1:30 pm
In my opinion they would be better off moving on from Evans he seems to have lost his ability to catch.looks like he’s backing up trying to draw a penalty instead of get out in front and catch the ball don’t think he’s gonna work out
December 5th, 2022 at 1:50 pm
Playing for overtime with timeouts in your pocket is some of the worst coaching I have ever seen. In 40 years of following football and twenty three following Tom,I was enraged. Do they not know modern football offenses? Just plain dumb!
December 5th, 2022 at 1:50 pm
Ummmmm….. Our Bucs have a horrendous, hideous, shameful, and laughable record against new, unproven quarterbacks….. Stop looking ahead and focus on tonite……
December 5th, 2022 at 4:21 pm
Brock Purdy will look like a superbowl MVP against us. I’ve seen it too many times before. This season included.
December 5th, 2022 at 5:23 pm
I am curious why Tom Brady isn’t getting even a little blame? We all see the same thing and I assume most of us say the same thing. His arm for the first quarter looks alive, he puts some spin on the ball. 2nd quarter he has less zip and by the 4th things slow down more so. He’s not making some of the throws he used to, even out of the gate. Your hand / eye coordination slows down in your 40’s, its happening to the GOAT and we all see it.
I am the last person to knock Jason Licht because he has done amazing things sans a K in the 2nd round but not fortifing the Oline was a hugh mistake. Brady did not get younger and is more of statue a than he ever has been, see, I am not just blaming Brady.
Coaching, we haven’t seen coaching this poor since that jackaloon from Rutgers came in and blitzed the kneel down. Its poor from every dang angle!
December 5th, 2022 at 5:54 pm
If the team that played in Munich shows up tonite….we win big….if the team we seem to have with these coaches shows up….the slimy Saints notch another W……who will show up? How about using Otten tonite….he earned a start!
December 5th, 2022 at 7:49 pm
guaranteed bucs loss they can’t score
December 5th, 2022 at 7:53 pm
WOW!! Joe you have to be one of the most generous persons on Earth. Purdy be frightened of Bowles defense? (Joe Biden got 80 million votes) THAT i’d like to see. The only people that are frightened of Bowles defense is Bowles defense LOL
December 5th, 2022 at 10:35 pm
Joe can’t wait to see Todd Bowles face when Purdy’s offense confuses the hell out of him
December 6th, 2022 at 12:35 pm
Our bucs could definitely be the first team to win a super bowl with a losing record during the regular season. The receivers seem to be running at about 85% and being afraid of getting injured for 3 quarters a game they don’t give it their all until the final drives of games.Or maybe that’s just when Tom Brady takes over the offensive play calling