On Sunday, after a loss to the Atlanta Falcons, the Buccaneers became the sixth team in NFL history to make the playoffs with a losing record. Not only will they be fighting for a chance for a Super Bowl, but they will be hosting a playoff game at Raymond James Stadium.
The Path To 8-9
If you were told at the beginning of the season that the Bucs were hosting the Cowboys in the playoffs, you would think that the season has gone to plan. Now, if I had told you that the Bucs would have gone 8-9, you probably wouldn’t have believed it. This Buccaneers season has been that surprising and disappointing.
This season’s struggles are all over the place and not isolated into one specific area. It’s tough not to blame the coaching changes when the team has turnover, but shows alot of regression. That’s a lazy answer to a question that no fan can answer.
It’s just been frustrating. It feels like something has to be going wrong at all times. Every game you can bet on the Bucs making a dumb mistake or just coming out flat. This has affected every player on all sides of the ball and has everyone questioning this team validity in the playoffs.
So You’re Saying There’s A Chance?
The season has been disappointing and straight up tough to watch at times, but they still earned an invite to the dance. Not only are they in the playoffs, but nearly everyone is healthy at the same time, something that rarely happens this late in the year. Ryan Jensen looks like he could be back for the Cowboys game, and everyone else is listed as healthy.
Not to mention this team still has Tom Brady, who seldom loses in the playoffs and betting against him has typically left you on the wrong side of history.
At the end of the day regular season records don’t matter. Many teams have made surprising runs in the playoffs when nobody expected it. This team has all the pieces to go on a four game win streak, and that’s all they need. Why not the Buccaneers? Why can’t they do this? They have all the talent, and it would make for one hell of a Cinderella story.
