The Cowboys are going to be a huge factor in the Bucs' playoff chase
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-6) currently control their own playoff destiny thanks to Sunday's win over the Las Vegas Raiders (2-11) and the Minnesota Vikings' (11-2) win over the Atlanta Falcons (6-7), but a little help along the way certainly doesn't hurt.The Bucs can receive just that from the Dallas Cowboys, who are going to […]
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-6) currently control their own playoff destiny thanks to Sunday's win over the Las Vegas Raiders (2-11) and the Minnesota Vikings' (11-2) win over the Atlanta Falcons (6-7), but a little help along the way certainly doesn't hurt.
The Bucs can receive just that from the Dallas Cowboys, who are going to have both a direct and indirect impact on Tampa Bay's playoff chase. For starters, the Cowboys play the Carolina Panthers in Week 15. A Carolina win over the Cowboys would obviously strengthen the Panthers' record, which in turn helps the Bucs' strength of schedule and strength of victory – two potential wildcard tiebreakers that could come in handy in case the Falcons end up with the same record or a better one, leaving the Bucs to rely on wildcard tiebreakers. The Panthers are currently -1.5 point favorites over the Cowboys.
The Cowboys then play the Bucs in Week 16, so it's pretty obvious how that outcome would help Baker Mayfield and co. if it plays out in their favor. Next up is the red-hot Philadelphia Eagles in Week 17, which will impact the aforementioned tiebreakers in the same way as the Panthers if they were to win. Lastly, it's the scrappy-as-ever Washington Commanders in the 'Boys season finale.
The finale is a big deal because the Bucs would hold a head-to-head tiebreaker over the Commanders if they finished with the same record.
Let's say the Bucs lose to the Los Angeles Chargers this week and then win out, finishing 10-7 on the year and the Falcons win out and end up with 10-7 record, themselves. The Falcons would then win the NFC South and the Bucs would have to earn a wildcard spot to get into the playoffs.
The Commanders still have to play the Eagles again and they also play the Falcons, along with the Saints and the previously mentioned finale against the Cowboys. In this scenario, the Falcons would beat them since they win out in the above paragraph, leaving the Cowboys in the finale to drop them to 10-7 if they win in Dallas (and beat the Saints for the sake of this hypothetical). And let's not forget the 'Boys have already beaten the Commanders in one of the craziest games of the year back in Week 12.
The Bucs would have the tiebreaker over the Commanders in this case and would obtain whatever wildcard spot is available. So it's easy to see why the Cowboys are going to play a huge role in Tampa Bay's final outcome, win or lose, over these final weeks of the regular season.
