The Stakes Are Higher Than Ever as the Buccaneers Enter December
If you've followed the career of Tom Brady, then you know how much the month of December means in terms of winning. He's always made it a point that the best teams separate from the pack after Thanksgiving and his 63-16 record in December with the Patriots shows how much he believes what he says.
That hasn't changed with the Buccaneers, who are a perfect 3-0 in December games since Brady's arrival.
"He [Brady] just tells us, ‘I just want all of us to be on the same page. This time of year, teams can either fall off or keep getting better,’" said Tristan Wirfs. "He said he wants us to keep getting better, and I know all of us want that. I don’t know what it is about him, but he’s pretty special.”
But it's not just about the Bucs' December record. That goose egg in the L column goes a long way in determining who plays whom and who plays where once the playoffs begin. And each regular season game takes on a whole new level of seriousness as each week passes.
"We know what’s at stake," Leonard Fournette told reporters Wednesday. "Coach BA [Bruce Arians] tells us every day in the meetings in the morning what we’re playing for. Just coming out knowing that each individual plays a part on this team and that will make us whole – to come out and do our job.
"Each opponent, we need to come out and beat them. The main focus is December football. We know how important this is as far as playoffs and having home-field advantage, so we’re trying to figure that out.”
That starts this week with the Atlanta Falcons. Brady and the Bucs have a shot at pushing their December record to 4-0 with regular season-sweep of the Falcons. The latter is the most important result, as it would have serious implications that fall in the Bucs' favor if a playoff tie-breaker is eventually needed between the two teams.
"It's a division game on the road and those are huge," Bruce Arians told reporters Wednesday. "You win division games on the road, they pay off for you."
As of now, the Bucs can wrap up the NFC South in three weeks with wins over the Falcons, Bills, and Saints in the third week. It would be the first division title for the Bucs since the 2007 season. But of course, this is only set in stone if the Bucs take care of business, first.
"I mean, it's either going to [be] you can lock it up or be in a dogfight all the way to the end," said Arians. "That's the way most of the schedules are now, keeping all the division games in December and January so it keeps everybody involved."
And even though two of the next three opponents are below .500, Arians isn't ruling anything out, which should be the players' mindset(s), as well.
"There's still a long way to go," said Arians. "The Saints are a hell of a football team. That defense – I'll never cross them out. Carolina has played good and bad and Atlanta is a game out of the playoffs. Three-game lead right now – we've got a long way to go."
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