The Tampa Bay Buccaneers season hangs in the balance as they prepare for the stretch run.
The team is 5-5 and, thankfully, plays in one of the weakest divisions in football, as they are still in first place over the Atlanta Falcons by a half-game. The Bucs also currently holds the number four playoff seed in the NFC.
The first half of the season had a myriad of issues that led to the Bucs underperforming at 5-5. You can read about some of those issues in the first half at
The schedule is favorable for the Bucs down the stretch to pile up the wins and create momentum going into the playoffs.
Buccaneers Second Half Preview
The Bucs will put this one in the win column.
The second half of the season will start this Sunday with a road trip to Cleveland to take on the reeling Browns. The Browns have one of the most formidable running attacks in the league, led by Nick Chubb, but that is about it. The defense has been very inconsistent. Stop Chubb; most of the time, you will beat the Browns.
The New Orleans Saints will be in Tampa for a Monday Night game on December fifth. This team has been a mess with Andy Dalton and Jameis Winston at quarterback and no Michael Thomas at wide receiver. But this is another game that the Bucs should win.
The Bucs will then head west for a matchup with San Francisco. The 49ers are starting to get healthy. They added another weapon to the offense to pair with Deebo Samuel picking up running back Christian McCaffrey at the trade deadline.
This will be a challenging game for the Bucs to win, flying to the west coast following a short week of preparation to play an excellent team on the road. Unfortunately, I don’t see the Bucs winning this game. So let’s put this one in the loss column.
The AFC champion Cincinnati Bengals will play at Raymond James the following week. The Bengals had a rough start to the season but are playing better as of late.
The defense is still very inconsistent, and they give up a ton of points. I Like the Bucs to win this game to go to 8-6 on the season.
Buccaneers Will Play On Christmas Night
The Buccaneers will then head west again for a Christmas Night matchup with the Arizona Cardinals. Unfortunately, the Cardinals are a mess on both sides of the ball. Quarterback Kyler Murray is a poor mans Lamar Jackson and Kliff Kingsbury’s success in college has not translated to success at the NFL level.
This is a game the Buccaneers should have no problem winning, as they will beat the Cardinals in the desert.
The Bucs then return home for their final home game against the Carolina Panthers. In early October, this was one of the worst Buccaneer losses of the season, losing on the road in Charlotte 21-3.
The Buccaneers should have the NFC South title wrapped up and dominate the Panthers, getting the win in their final home game of the season.
A road trip to Atlanta will wrap up the regular season for the Buccaneers. However, the Falcons will have nothing to play for at this point in the season. The Falcons boast one of the best running attacks in the league and have been strong all season.
Stop the run, and the Buccaneers will win this game.
The Bucs will go 6-1 in the second half of the season and enter the playoffs with a ton of momentum, similar to their 2020 Super Bowl run.
Todd Bowles met with the media and talked about the Buccaneers stretch run.
The second half of the season, the Buccaneers will prove everyone wrong. They will show everyone they are a team deserving of the playoffs and should be mentioned with the Bill, Chiefs, and Eagles when discussing possible Super Bowl contenders.
