2 reasons why Buccaneers will win NFC South in Week 18

When the season started, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were by no means the betting favorites to win the NFC South.

Before the season, the Bucs had the longest odds of any team in this division, with +800 odds from sportsbooks such as Caesar’s and DraftKings.

However, the Buccaneers still have control over their fate in terms of winning this division as they head into Week 18.

Even though they had suffered a heartbreaking loss to the New Orleans Saints, where they had the opportunity to immediately

secure the NFC South, they undoubtedly would have accepted their current situation prior to the start of the season.

It is their division to lose in the NFC South. There are several explanations for this.

For the Buccaneers to clinch the NFC South and a home playoff birth, the team simply has to beat the 2-14 Carolina Panthers.

That’s it.

Due to their offseason transaction to obtain the top pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, which they used to choose quarterback Bryce

Young, Carolina has already granted the Chicago Bears the first pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. David Tepper, the owner of the

Panthers, was recently seen hurling his drink at a Jacksonville Jaguars supporter while the Panthers were trailing 26-0.

In terms of EPA per play on offense and EPA allowed per play on defense, the Panthers are ranked 29th and 26th, respectively, in the NFL. In contrast, Tampa Bay is ranked 12th in both measures and 21st overall.

The Panthers are still a professional team and have not only beaten a couple of potential playoff teams in the Houston Texans

and the Atlanta Falcons, but they won’t catch the Bucs by surprise. If they do, it would be a firable offense committed by just about everyone on the Buccaneers’ coaching staff.

Young and company will give the Bucs a game, but the Bucs are the far superior team. Not only should they win to clinch the NFC South, but they should win handily.

The Saints and Falcons need to win and get help to win the NFC South

The New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons are both still alive in the NFC South picture, but their paths are much more

arduous than Tampa’s. Both the Saints and Falcons need the Panthers to win against the Bucs to keep any hope of winning the

NFC South alive. They also play against each other, so one of them is going to eliminate the other from playoff contention.

Tampa’s prospects of winning the division are greatly increased by this. Other than defeating the Panthers, they have nothing to

worry about. In addition, whether the Bucs win the NFC South or not, there is just one scenario that needs to concern them.

They don’t have to worry about either team having a chance to take the lead in that division because those two are playing each

other directly. Only one of them has a chance to win, and that would need the Bucs to lose a game in which they are 5.5-point favorites.

In Week 18, the NFC South is actually the Buccaneers’ to lose. All they need to accomplish is triumph against the NFL’s bottom

team in a game. They don’t deserve to go to the playoffs if they lose this game.

However, that, along with the reality that neither the Saints nor the Falcons can catch them, is very encouraging for their

chances of winning the NFC South and qualifying for the playoffs.

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