No One Wants to Win the NFC South
The NFC South is totally up for grabs between the Carolina Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but not because they're two good teams. It's because neither team appears to want to win this division and make the playoffs.
They're both going to be one-and-done if they do make it, but that's no excuse to seemingly be intent on handing a rival a playoff spot. Yet, that's exactly what these two squads have done the last few weeks.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Carolina Panthers continue weird duel for NFC South
As of now, the NFC South is tied. The Carolina Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers are both 7-7, but the Bucs have the tiebreaker due to a better point differential. They've yet to match up, but they'll play in Charlotte in Week 16 and in Tampa in Week 18. That Week 18 game will probably determine the division. It is possible for Tampa to wrap it up in Week 17, though.
But the last few weeks, neither team has seemed willing to take control.
The Panthers beat the Los Angeles Rams in Week 13, which was a stunning result. That left them a half-game behind the Bucs heading into their bye week. During that bye week, the New Orleans Saints upset the Buccaneers. That wiped out the Panthers' inexcusable home loss to the Saints in Week 10.
And then, before the Panthers returned to play on Sunday in Week 15, the Buccaneers melted down on Thursday Night Football. That left the Panthers in first place by half a game. If they'd just gotten revenge on the three-win Saints, they'd have made next week's game a potential clincher for the division title.
But in classic Panthers fashion, they folded when it mattered most. They collapsed late, allowing 10 points in roughly five minutes to lose the game and fall back to second place. Penalties, including a 15-yard roughness penalty on what would've likely been the last play of the game, cost them.
The Saints had no timeouts and about 12 seconds left, and they ran a draw. The play itself didn't get them into field goal range, so they would've had to scramble to spike the ball (no guarantee they could've gotten set and gotten it off in time. Even if they had, it would've been a career-long attempt (and a long one for any kicker) for a kicker who'd only attempted four kicks in his NFL career.
Instead, the 15-yard penalty made it very makeable. And even if he'd missed it, the Panthers lined up offsides. It was the second time cornerback Chau Smith-Wade was lined up in the neutral zone on a field goal. That is just inexcusable. So, because of Carolina's propensity for blowing it when you least expect them to, this division is now back up for grabs.
That begins this Sunday, when the reeling Buccaneers will visit the stunned Panthers. Fresh off a bye week, that sort of loss is inexcusable. The only way they can make up for it is by turning around and beating the Bucs. That won't get them the division, but it'll at least set up Week 18 as a win-and-in game.
Otherwise, the Panthers will need to win out, and the Buccaneers will need to lose out. It's not a good position to be in, but the Buccaneers haven't exactly been on a hot streak. They started 5-1, and they're now 7-7.
It's been particularly bad as of late, as they've lost two games in a row to eliminated opponents while being at home. As it stands, neither of these teams is exactly deserving of a playoff spot. Perhaps sadly, one of them has to get in.
We'll see which one it is.
