What does Atlanta’s win over New Orleans mean for Tampa Bay and the battle of the NFC South?
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers won without even playing in Week 9 thanks to an exciting Falcons win over a Saints team that got the best of Tampa Bay last week. Despite losing to New Orleans, it would seem the Bucs are still in a much better position than the Saints to win the division when you look at factors like the remaining schedule and injuries.
The Bucs may not be that healthy overall as a team, but as long as they remain healthy at QB, unlike the Saints, then it’s doubtful to imagine that the NFC playoffs don’t run through Tampa Bay this year.
The biggest strength of this Bucs team right now is easily their quarterback, Tom Brady. Brady is very much in MVP discussions at 44-years-old and honestly looking as good as he ever has in his entire 20+ year career. Even with his favorite targets in Antonio Brown and Rob Gronkowski missing a combined six games this year, Brady has still had enough around him to work with all year.
Tom Brady is simply the one player you cannot afford to lose for any reason this season or else everything changes and then you’re no longer winning the shootouts you were earlier this year.
But if we’re talking weaknesses, then we’re talking about how this team defends all-around against the passing game. This pass rush as well as the pass coverage really needs improvement in comparison to other contenders around the league. This is surely a result of the injuries in the secondary.
Because of this, it has led to Devin White playing more of a pass-coverage role which is limiting his chances of getting sacks and tackles for losses. Ultimately, White is not living up to the preseason expectations of him being a potential defensive player of the year.
White is also among the most penalized players on this defense, having three personal fouls in the last game against the Saints. He received a $25,000 fine for his hit on Jameis Winston, which ended his season. If karma is real, then I sure hope it doesn’t find its way to Devin White or the Buccaneers.
The Saints seemed to rally around that hit on Jameis which took him out of the game. Because, following Winston’s injury, New Orleans forced a couple of turnovers in the second quarter; a fumble recovery and an interception which led to a field goal and a touchdown.
Just before that field goal, the Bucs had a roughing the passer penalty which eliminated an interception that was made in the endzone. That could’ve been a huge swing play for the Bucs if not for bad discipline there.
What lost the Bucs the game against New Orleans was simply penalties and turnovers. Some would say that’s just beating yourself rather than getting beaten by an opponent. It definitely was not Brady’s best game as he had two interceptions and a fumble, taking responsibility for the loss after the game saying that it was on him; primarily in reference to the final interception which iced the game.
But, the Bucs still could’ve pulled this one out. They came back from a 16-point deficit in the second half and even took a lead with under six minutes left in the game. And when Brady has the ball last, down two points, you typically feel good about your chances of winning. Yet, we know what happened this time instead.
Overall, it felt like good timing for this bye week to approach after a game where it seemed like you really beat yourselves rather than get beaten by the Saints. As long as Brady throwing picks to end games is only an outlier, then there isn’t too much to worry about. But, if this outcome occurs again, you may have an excuse to be a little concerned.
The Saints look like a playoff team, but do not look like a better team than the Bucs. I don’t see them being able to get over the hump and take 1st in the NFC South, especially without Winston who looked pretty good earlier this year.
New Orleans has a couple of nice weapons and a strong defensive front, but I don’t see it as enough to really scare Bucs fans unless you continue to get weak, uncharacteristic showings from Tampa like you did this past Halloween.
Losing to the Falcons this weekend was disappointing and showed a lot about this Saints team. They have some games remaining that are much tougher opponents than Atlanta, like the Titans, Bills, and Cowboys, as well as a rematch in Tampa with the Bucs.
Other games are against the Jets, Dolphins, Eagles, Panthers, and Falcons. At 5-3, the Saints will likely be a .500 team down the stretch and end up at around 10-7 or 9-8, which will likely be a worse record than the Bucs.
The Bucs may possibly have one of the easiest remaining schedules in the entire league. You have no reason to lose any of these next four games which are against the Washington Football Team, New York Giants, Indianapolis Colts, and Atlanta Falcons.
Then, remaining, Tampa Bay has the Bills, the Jets, the Saints, and two games against Carolina.
Simply, if the Buccaneers take advantage of this much-needed bye week, they’ll be in terrific shape.