Tampa Bay Buccaneers Rise in NFL Power Rankings Heading Into Week 15
In Week 14, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won for the second straight week. With a 6-7 record, the Bucs are now in first place of the NFC South. Once again, the NFC South is the weakest division in football but the Bucs look to be on track to win it. In these past few weeks, Tampa Bay has consistently been in the low to mid-twenties in media outlet's weekly power rankings. After a win against the Falcons, where do they rank this week?
Here are the Bucs power rankings headed into Week 15.
NFL.com
18. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+5)
That’s now two straight wins for the intrepid Buccaneers, living up to their name. They seldom make it easy, but somehow, Tampa Bay remains in the running for a home playoff game. Baker Mayfield had less than 100 yards passing heading into the fourth quarter, but he threw two TDs and led three second-half scoring drives to help the Bucs take control of the game late. Mayfield owed a debt of gratitude to the defense and special teams for keeping Tampa in the game, notching a safety while also forcing a near pick-six and two missed field goals in the first half. The defense suffered a few coverage busts, but made enough big plays to beat Atlanta and keep the season alive. The Bucs' chances of winning the division would have plummeted with a loss. Much left to do, but it was a critical step.
ESPN
20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+3)
Scoring has been a struggle for the Bucs, but they did muster 29 points in Sunday's win over the Falcons. In Weeks 1-8 this season, they averaged 17.29 offensive points per game, and in Weeks 9-14, it's picked up to 23.5 points per game. The biggest area of offensive improvement -- which has allowed them to be more balanced and less predictable -- has been the ground game with Rachaad White and some Chase Edmonds now that he's healthy. In Weeks 1-8, they averaged 77.9 rushing yards per game. In Weeks 9-14, that average jumped to 104.2. -- Jenna Laine
CBS Sports
18. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+3)
Winning at Atlanta is a big one for the Bucs. They are now tied for the division lead and control their own fate to winning the division.
Bleacher Report
18. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+5)
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had an opportunity Sunday to really muddy up the NFC South, which has become the division no one wants to win. And while it wasn't a pretty effort by any stretch of the imagination, Tampa came back to force a three-way tie atop the NFC South when Baker Mayfield found a wide-open Cade Otton with less than a minute to play.
Mayfield told reporters it was an easy throw to make, largely because the Falcons were devoting so much attention to wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin.
"We knew down there in the red zone, they were going to take Mike and Chris away," Mayfield said. "So, Cade had a one-on-one."
Still, Otton credited his quarterback for putting the ball where it needed to be.
"Baker put up a perfect ball," Otton said. "It's such a satisfying win. It didn't go great the whole game, but we believed and we fought."
The Buccaneers have been all over the place this year—3-1 before the bye week, but just 3-6 since. However, the Bucs have won two straight, and next week's trip to Lambeau Field to face the Packers is a now a critically important game.
"The NFC South is terrible," Sobleski said. "It's easily the worst division in the NFL. However, the Buccaneers are currently the best of a bad lot. At 6-7, Tampa Bay is the only division leader with a losing record and it is hanging on by tiebreakers, since the Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints sport the same record. To the Bucs' credit, they overcame adversity Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons to find themselves in their current position. When trailing by three with just over three minutes to play, Tampa Bay and quarterback Baker Mayfield orchestrated a 12-play, 75-yard drive that resulted in the game-winning touchdown to tight end Cade Otton. During the drive, the Bucs converted a third down and a fourth down to keep momentum going. The significance of the moment shouldn't be overlooked since it is Tampa Bay's first win when trailing with under a minute to go this season."
USA Today
18. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+2)
PFF's top-ranked safety in 2023, Antoine Winfield Jr. is having quite the campaign. He's joined Hall of Famer Brian Dawkins (2002) as the only defensive backs since 2000 with at least three sacks, three forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries in a single season.
NBC Sports
18. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+4)
They’re the NFC South team with the best chance to win at home in the wild-card round.
The Bucs will now travel to Green Bay and matchup against the Green Bay Packers.
Stick with BucsGameday and the Locked On Bucs podcast for more coverage of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers throughout the 2023 season.
