If the Bucs win, they’re in.
Bouncing back from a stomach-turning loss to the Dallas Cowboys two weeks ago, the Buccaneers trounced the Carolina Panthers in a must-win game last Sunday. The victory, combined with an Atlanta Falcons‘ loss later that night, allowed Tampa to secure the rights to their own destiny. The Buccaneers must simply defeat the New Orleans Saints this Sunday and they will be hosting a playoff game next weekend. So—
How can the Buccaneers win this game?
Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images
Different than some matchups this season, there are a multitude of ways the Buccaneers can win this game. From a physically victorious standpoint Tampa can force the Saints to play on their terms in any capacity they please and have the talent to win. Metaphorically, the way the Tampa Bay Buccaneers win this Sunday is two-fold.
They must firm up their postseason plans with a win on the field. Doing so in dominating fashion would go along way towards generating momentum for postseason play. Tampa doesn’t need crush New Orleans the way the left the Panthers for dead last week, simply earn a definitive win.
The other crucial element all Buccaneers’ fans and seemingly players alike, will be watching will Mike Evans’ quest to 1,000 yards. With Evans, a tried and true Tampa Bay Buc on the brink of NFL history, a win would seemingly feel incomplete if it was accompanied by Evans failing to reach his mark. Mike Evans’ first single-season dip beneath 1,000 yards is a sour taste best avoided heading into the playoffs.
Photo by Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images
For Evans, the record is 85 yards away— Certainly attainable. It is that attainability that makes it so tantalizing and that would simultaneously garner some levels of frustration no matter the scenario that plays out around it.
How can the Buccaneers lose this game?
By choking. Never a pretty term, especially in the context of competitive athletics— It is the reality though. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a nine-win team, with +109 point differential. The New Orleans Saints have won just 5 games this season, scored 319 points, and allowed 371. New Orleans, currently deep down their depth at a good deal of positions— Including quarterback, is coming off a 15-point loss to the four-win Las Vegas Raiders. Tampa Bay is coming off of a 48-14 thrashing of the Carolina Panthers, another low-ranking NFC South team.
For the Buccaneers, while this rivalry may be one that has thwarted them in the past, this is the present. In 2024, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, with everything on the line, losing to the Saints would nothing short of a franchise-wide choke.
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