The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a massive mess right now. The loss against the Colts didn't mathematically eliminate the team from the playoffs, but they might as well consider that loss as one of the nails in the coffin for this season.

While every member of the Bucs would tell you the team is still alive and that it can still compete now, any fan with an ounce of integrity will tell you that this is not a good football team, and sneaking into the playoffs as the worst team of the field due to playing in the NFC South is not in the best interest of this franchise.

The Buccaneers need to close the door on the 2023 season. That might be the only way to save some jobs and salvage another disappointing year.

Tampa beating the Panthers twice, the Saints again, and the Falcons for the first time is certainly on the table. The Bucs could make the playoffs again with a losing record. But to what end? To make the playoffs and not even be competitive in the first round? To prop up the undeserved egos of the coaching staff and tell them what they're doing is right for essentially earning a participation trophy? That sure worked last year.

The Bucs winning at this point takes away any urgency to make a change on the mere basis of rules in the league essentially allowing bad teams a decent shot at the playoffs. The Bucs are a bad team, and losing in the short term may be the only way to fix that.

But losing alone may not even be the requirement. The Bucs can improve their chances in the future by simply making decisions now that put the team in better positions for then.

For starters, it makes sense to start giving young players reps. If Todd Bowles really does want to keep his job, and that is a huge task at the moment, nothing would look better for the front office than guys like Trey Palmer and Kyle Trask forming a bond on the field and looking like genuine starters for the future.

This has nothing to do with Baker Mayfiled, who has been one of the better quarterbacks in the league this season. He just doesn't look like a long-term member of this franchise. Kyle Trask may not be that player either, but at least it changes things up enough to make the rest of the year an evaluation phase rather than a win-now phase.

If the Bucs go all-in and lose this year, it's a failure. If they start getting reps for young guys, see what they have with their cheapest free agents and rookies, and earn a favorable pick in the draft to select a player with the best chance of helping this team, that seems like a huge win for the franchise, playoffs or not.

Buccaneers continue to disappoint in recent loss

Another rough one.