The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-9) put themselves in the brutal position where they cannot even celebrate after edging out the Carolina Panthers on Saturday. Following two months of horrendous football, they will have to rely on another team in order to extend their five-year playoffs streak. More than that, the Bucs and their fans will be rooting for a divisional foe on the final day of the regular season.
If the New Orleans Saints (6-10) conquer the Atlanta Falcons (7-9) in Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sunday afternoon, Tampa will host a matchup during Wild Card Weekend. Kellen Moore's guys have been scrappy amid a four-game winning streak, and the Buccaneers desperately need them to maintain that tenacity on the road.
Tampa Bay was cruising toward a fifth consecutive NFC South crown after starting the season 6-2, but it ceded control to the Panthers after dropping seven of its last nine games. The team thwarted Carolina's attempt to clinch the division in Raymond James Stadium and now gets another shot to join the postseason festivities.
The Bucs will brush up on their French and put in their application for Who Dat Nation, as they reluctantly place their trust in the Saints.
Will the Saints launch the Buccaneers into the playoffs?
New Orleans has surprised many people by winning six games during what was supposed to be the early stages of a rebuild, but those victories have come against the New York Giants, New York Jets, Tennessee Titans and members of the lowly NFC South. Ergo, this squad is still quite vulnerable.
Fortunately for them and the Buccaneers, the Saints end the campaign against a fellow sub.-500 team in Atlanta. Despite the Falcons' recent surge, which includes a 27-24 Monday Night Football win versus the Los Angeles Rams, they are obviously not a juggernaut. New Orleans can begin 2026 on a high and head into the offseason with considerable momentum, taking pleasure in the fact that it was only one game shy of winning the division.
Tampa will beg rookie quarterback Tyler Shough and the gritty Saints to grant them this big favor before the two franchises promptly resume their longstanding rivalry.
