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 sport.
However they nonetheless have to attend and get some assistance on Sunday from an unlikely supply — A 6-10 New Orleans Saints group.
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 data.
In a head-to-head tiebreaker state of affairs, the Buccaneers would win that and safe the division.
However the consequence of Sunday’s sport between the Saints and Atlanta Falcons might create a three-way tie that might swing the division again in Carolina’s favor.
If the Falcons beat New Orleans, it could give them an 8-9 document to match the Panthers and Buccaneers and create a three-way tie on the high of the division. In that occasion, the Panthers win the division and host a playoff sport subsequent week.
Meaning two groups with nothing to play for, and two groups which have already been eradicated from playoff rivalry, are going to determine a division winner and alter the trail for a number of groups going into the postseason.
That can also be just one a part of the story right here. The subplot to all of that is an 8-9 group goes to win the division and host a playoff sport. That not solely forces a group with a greater document to journey to them, but additionally a group that may nearly actually have the second-best document within the NFC.
This may solely be the fifth time in NFL historical past (in a non-strike 12 months) {that a} group with a shedding document will make the playoffs. Irrespective of which group it’s, it will likely be the second time one among these franchises has performed it (Carolina in 2014 and Tampa Bay in 2022)
There may be already an ongoing debate within the NFL as as to whether or not division winners ought to routinely host playoff video games, and this consequence is barely going to throw extra gasoline onto that fireside. It’s nearly actually going to be a 12-win group (or possibly even a 13-win group) having to journey on the highway to a group that’s 4 or 5 video games worse.
So long as the divisional format exists, there needs to be some form of reward for profitable it. If not, simply do away with the divisions, mix groups into two large conferences, and easily take the highest seven groups. Till that change will get made, that is the format and all people 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 creating the playoffs. All of that is very on model for the NFC South.
