The Buccaneers were headed for irrelevance again. I was so sure of it after this team limped to the playoffs in the worst division in football last year, and then immediately turned around and endured a cap-strapped offseason that saw them lose Tom Brady. There’s still time for that to happen, but in a surprise to me, the Bucs have been pretty solid.
Now 3-2, they’ll host the Falcons in a pivotal NFC South matchup. A win here for Atlanta does wonders for their positioning in the division, as they’ll be 2-0 with a victory over a Tampa Bay team that may linger until the end of the season.