Nearly every NFL season has at least one division that, if taken out of the league and thrown into the ocean, the product would be much better. This season, that division is the NFC South.
While the Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers played some entertaining games, neither team was able to claim enough wins to reach the record .500. The Falcons lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers yesterday, and last week the Buccaneers suffered a heartbreaking loss in extra time to the Cleveland Browns.
It is so difficult for any team to gain a foothold in this tournament that, with a score of 4-8, the New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers still tie for first place. Andy Dalton is leading the attack of the Saints and Panthers release upgraded their big-time midfielder, Baker Mayfield, and traded their best player for Christian McCaffrey.
Above Monday Night Football The Buccaneers will host the Saints, and if these teams’ recent performances are a harbinger of things to come, expect a clumsy, uninteresting primetime game.
The Saints were left empty-handed last week by the San Francisco 49ers’ strong and athletic defence. Yes, the 49ers are brilliant and can win the Super Bowl with a rookie, final overall draft pick, in midfield, but disqualification won’t happen in the NFL. Especially offense with talented players like Alvin Kamara, Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed.
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Even against the Browns’ loose defence, the Bucs were unable to sustain any success on the ground. They led the Browns 17-10 for most of the second half before David Njoku ended the game with a late touch. However, 17-10? In the second half, the Buccaneers ate three and lost four times. Let a team play long enough, and yes, Jacoby Brissett can lead encounters late in the fourth quarter and in injury time to win.
So that’s what goes head to head to finish the Week 13 standings. Two fouls have struggled to take 20 points across the board, playing in a crucial game with a championship split and both teams are under 0.500.
According to NFL rules, a team must win this division and that team must hold a knockout. It’s an archaic rule that needs to be scrapped in all major American sports. However, since that won’t happen anytime soon, let’s try to get this part out of our lives as quickly as possible.
That means pulling in every opponent the Buccaneers have for the rest of the season. If they win the league with a record of 8-9, this is the only team that can go on to win the playoffs. The Buccaneers will likely host the Dallas Cowboys in the Wild-Card Round. On paper, this would be a complete mismatch. Honestly, though, you know you can see the Cowboys blowing that game up.
I’m sure. They don’t have attacking players to threaten the Buccaneers down the field. That’s even harder with Antoine Winfield Jr. and Sean Murphy-Bunting healthy on the field in January.
The Cowboys might let the Buccaneers hang around for too long, and then old vet Brady could turn back his father’s clock for a couple of late hits, and we’d be stuck with them in the split round. team. Maybe even a rematch of last year’s Philadelphia Eagles playoff nightmare.
None of that would be fun to watch. The knockouts are supposed to showcase the best that the tournament has to offer, not a three-and-a-half quarter-final.
So for those who want maximum entertainment in the knockouts, be a Saints fan for a day. Because the faster the Buccaneers disappear, the faster NFC South 2022 will disappear from our lives.
