The Tampa Bay Buccaneers sit at 5-6 on the year and are still well and truly in the playoff hunt, with Todd Bowles' team right behind the Atlanta Falcons in the race for the division.
But given how the Buccaneers played in the lead-up to their bye, losing four straight games, with three of them being by one score, Tampa Bay's season could easily have had a different outlook had a bounce of the ball gone their way, but that is the nature of football.
Now, with a favorable schedule, the Buccaneers can begin their climb back into the playoff seedings, but Baker Mayfield knows there's no margin for error.
“No, there's not, and we've had a lot of close games before the bye,” Mayfield said. “That margin error, we're on the wrong side of things, hurt ourselves a lot. But I think we're looking at those games, learning from it, and moving forward.”
The Buccaneers still have to play the Carolina Panthers twice, the Las Vegas Raiders, the Dallas Cowboys, and the Los Angeles Chargers. One could envision that Tampa Bya will be favorite in every one of those games except L.A.
So if the Buccaneers take care of business as many expect them to do, and some other results go their way, then the road back to the playoffs is clear.
But, losing one of those games and the playoff picture becomes a little muddy, which leaves Bowles' team knowing that every game is almost season-defining.
The fight has always been there from Mayfield and his team, but now they must fight even harder to ensure that their season doesn't end with their playoff ticket left unpunched.
