As he completed preparations for Tampa Bay’s regular-season finale, Sunday against Carolina, hopefully Buccaneers coach Dirk Koetter bought a lottery ticket.
Why not? He’ll have just as good a chance to strike it rich in the lottery than his Buccaneers (8-7) have of earning a wild-card berth in the NFC playoffs. Yes, the Bucs are still mathematically alive, but seven outcomes must take place to qualify for the postseason:
- A Buccaneers win over Carolina.
- An Indianapolis win over Jacksonville.
- A Dallas win over Philadelphia.
- A Tennessee win over Houston.
- A Detroit win over Green Bay.