The Tampa Bay Buccaneers cannot make the playoffs anymore, as far as I can see. I might be mistaken and there might be some tiny, tiny, super obscure scenario where they make it in—but I certainly can’t find that scenario, if it exists.
Lets’s start with why: the Bucs can’t get a better record than 8-8, and they can’t win the division. So the only way for them is to make it into the playoffs as a wild card with an 8-8 record.
But: the Carolina Panthers and Atlanta Falcons are both 8-5 right now, after the Falcons beat the Saints last ngiht, and they play each other in week 17.