TAMPA, Fla. — The Atlanta Falcons' upset of the Los Angeles Rams on Monday night complicates things for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
For the Bucs to win the NFC South and make the playoffs, they need to beat the Carolina Panthers (8-8) on Saturday and then have the Falcons lose or tie against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.
WATCH: Bucs battle Panthers for NFC South crown
“First and foremost for us to get in the playoffs, we have to win on Saturday,” quarterback Baker Mayfield said. “Can’t control what happens in the game on Sunday, but we can control how Saturday goes, how we prepare, how we come into it, and last home game.”
Maybe the Bucs’ season should not be coming down to the final game.
“Obviously, we have to win it, and cheer another team on on Sunday,” wide receiver Mike Evans said.
Mayfield led the team to a 6-2 start with four straight comebacks in the final minute. But these days, Mayfield ends the game in a different way, by throwing costly fourth-quarter interceptions in each of the last three games.
“We did all the little things right in those close ballgames early on,” Mayfield said. “When we had that middle-of-the-season stretch against some really good opponents, we did not do those same things. That costs us.”
Tampa Bay has lost seven of its last eight games to fall to 7-9 this season.
“I don’t think I’m stunned to be in this position,” head coach Todd Bowles said. “It’s disappointing, it’s frustrating. It’s part of the season. It’s the first time we’ve gone through something like this at the end of the season.”
“How long now? Five years, six years in a row we’ve been in the playoffs,” Evans said. “We tell guys all the time, ‘Don’t take this for granted.’ There’s only one team that’s going to win the Super Bowl and 14 teams that make the playoffs. We want to be one of those teams.”
And if they are one of those playoff teams, they’ll have to wait a day to celebrate.
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