Buccaneers Face a Must-Win Scenario Against Saints on Monday Night
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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have one option for getting into the playoffs this season. Winning the NFC South Division outright.
While a Wild Card birth isn't mathematically out of the picture, dropping out of the top spot in their own division would put the Bucs on the outside looking in as it pertains to the postseason seeding race.
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This puts Tampa Bay in a must-win situation entering Week 13, in their Monday Night Football showcase against the New Orleans Saints.
Normally, seeing the 4-8 Saints coming to town when Tom Brady is quarterbacking the Buccaneers would feel like a slam dunk.
But this isn't your grandfather's Brady-led NFL squad.
This one looks like it could earn the legendary quarterback his first losing season, ever.
And this isn't your run-of-the-mill eight-loss team coming to town.
This is the same New Orleans franchise that has won seven of the last eight regular-season contests against the Bucs.
And even though Andy Dalton will quarterback the opponent in this one, don't forget Tampa Bay - with basically this same defense and offense - once lost a game in this rivalry to Trevor Siemian.
In fact, the Buccaneers haven't won a home game in this series since December 2017.
A win on Monday and the Bucs keep their hold on the division lead, evening their own record to .500 with the possibility of taking a two-game lead over the Atlanta Falcons if they fall to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
However, a loss for Tampa Bay knocks them down in the NFC South standings if Atlanta beats the Steelers.
In that scenario, the Bucs go from the fourth seed in the conference, to ninth. And the ninth-place team doesn't get to play in the Lombardi tournament.
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Additionally, it puts the team two games out of the final Wild Card spot, and at least one full game back of the eighth place.
Now, one or two games isn't exactly an insurmountable amount, but with matchups upcoming against the San Francisco 49ers, Cincinnati Bengals, and the Arizona Cardinals on the road on Christmas day, it's safe to say that any deficit in the playoff race will feel a bit bigger than the game count.
So, Tampa Bay is absolutely in a must-win scenario.
The question is, will they?
Stick with BucsGameday and the Locked On Bucs podcast for more coverage of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers throughout the season.
