The Tampa Bay Buccaneers stored their season and their playoff hopes alive on Saturday night with a 16-14 win over the Carolina Panthers. It helped them keep away from — for now — what would have been a humiliating second-half collapse, and now offers them an opportunity to win the NFC South and host a playoff recreation.
However they nonetheless have to attend and get some assistance on Sunday from an unlikely supply — A 6-10 New Orleans Saints workforce.
NFC South chaos state of affairs is now in play
With Tampa Bay’s win on Saturday, each the Buccaneers and Panthers finish their common seasons with matching 8-9 information.
In a head-to-head tiebreaker state of affairs, the Buccaneers would win that and safe the division.
However the final result of Sunday’s recreation between the Saints and Atlanta Falcons may create a three-way tie that might swing the division again in Carolina’s favor.
If the Falcons beat New Orleans, it will give them an 8-9 document to match the Panthers and Buccaneers and create a three-way tie on the prime of the division. In that occasion, the Panthers win the division and host a playoff recreation subsequent week.
Meaning two groups with nothing to play for, and two groups which have already been eradicated from playoff competition, are going to determine a division winner and alter the trail for a number of groups going into the postseason.
That can be just one a part of the story right here. The subplot to all of that is an 8-9 workforce goes to win the division and host a playoff recreation. That not solely forces a workforce with a greater document to journey to them, but in addition a workforce that can virtually actually have the second-best document within the NFC.
This may solely be the fifth time in NFL historical past (in a non-strike yr) {that a} workforce with a dropping document will make the playoffs. Regardless of which workforce it’s, will probably be the second time one among these franchises has completed it (Carolina in 2014 and Tampa Bay in 2022)
There’s already an ongoing debate within the NFL as as to if or not division winners ought to mechanically host playoff video games, and this final result is simply going to throw extra gasoline onto that fireside. It’s virtually actually going to be a 12-win workforce (or perhaps even a 13-win workforce) having to journey on the street to a workforce that’s 4 or 5 video games worse.
So long as the divisional format exists, there must be some kind of reward for profitable it. If not, simply eliminate the divisions, mix groups into two huge conferences, and easily take the highest seven groups. Till that change will get made, that is the format and everyone is simply going to should cope with it.
For now, Carolina missed its likelihood to win the division on Saturday. Tampa Bay nonetheless has a hope. Now all eyes shift to 2 groups with no likelihood of constructing the playoffs. All of that is very on model for the NFC South.
