Only two of the outdoor National Football League games this weekend are expecting rain during their contests and they are both played today. Rain is in forecast for Tampa, where the Buccaneers host the Carolina Panthers, and in San Francisco, when the 49ers entertain the Seattle Seahawks.
When the schedule makers made these two the featured games on Saturday, they no doubt thought they had two games with great significance. They do, but not exactly how they anticipated it would shake down.
A couple weeks ago, the game to complete the season in Tampa had all the earmarks of deciding the NFC South Division and which team advanced to the postseason. Turns out, the Atlanta Falcons have had a spurt of success the past few weeks with wins over the Buccaneers, Arizona Cardinals and Los Angeles Rams. Their success elevates them to the possibility of ending the season in a three-way tie with the Buccaneers and Panthers with eight wins and nine losses.
It doesn’t do the Falcons any good for them advancing to the postseason, but if the division does end in a three-way tie the division will go to the Panthers even if they lose today in Tampa.
For the Buccaneers to advance to the postseason, they both need to win today and have the New Orleans Saints win tomorrow at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. In other words, the Panthers only need to win today to gain a playoff berth while the Buccaneers need to win and get help.
For reasons that Freud could explain better than me, a team that needs to both win and get help is a consistent winner. In other words, the Buccaneers at home today look to end the season with a win while losing seven of their prior eight games … and by our accounts, they will.