From 2008 to 2019, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers never made the playoffs. It was a strange feeling when the Bucs finally punched their ticket to the postseason in 2020, and now, after four straight playoff appearances, it will be a strange feeling for the Bucs not Make it to the big dance.

So much has changed for this franchise. A team that was once considered fairly irrelevant is now a very relevant team that always has a chance to make a run in the postseason. The problem right now, however, is that making the playoffs this year is no guarantee for the temperamental Bucs.

As of this writing, Tampa’s playoff odds are at 51%. If they win this weekend the odds rise to 61%, while if they lose it drops to 30%. If the Buccaneers want to make the postseason, winning the NFC South is their best bet. To do that, they need to win more games than the Atlanta Falcons, who have one more win than them And Hold the tiebreaker for beating the Bucs earlier in the year.

With six games left, let’s go through each matchup and predict how they will play out. Will the Bucs be able to win their fourth straight NFC South title?

The Bucs begin their final six-game stretch with a road game against the Panthers. Unfortunately for the Bucs, they couldn’t play against Carolina, even though it looked like the team would have a better chance of competing if they stayed at home. That’s how bad the Panthers were at the start of the season.

However, in the last three games, the Panthers have beaten the Saints and Giants in back-to-back weeks and beat the Chiefs all the way. Now, of course, I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that both the Saints and Giants suck and the Chiefs are close to everyone.

We’ll see if the Panthers have truly improved when they host the Buccaneers this weekend or if these games were a fluke. According to FanDuel, the Bucs currently have a 5.5 point advantage. This is a winnable game for Tampa, but division games can be wild.

Prediction: Buccaneers 27, Panthers 20

The Buccaneers return home in Week 14 to host the weak Raiders, who have won just two games in their 11 tries. In other words, the Raiders are bad. They don’t have a quarterback. Your best wide receiver plays for another team. Their head coach seems out of his element. They are just a bad football team.

While no game is easy to win, this should be as close to an easy win as possible. We saw how much the Buccaneers slowed down the Giants, and that’s exactly what should happen here.

Prediction: Buccaneers 30, Raiders 13

The first (and let’s be honest: only) really difficult game left on Tampa Bay’s schedule this season is against the Chargers. The bad news is that this game is in Los Angeles. The good news is that there aren’t many Chargers fans in Los Angeles, so the stadium could potentially be filled with Bucs fans, giving them a home-field advantage.

The Chargers were one of the most surprising teams of the 2024 season as their defense looked ferocious for a time and their offense also looked lethal. A Jim Harbaugh-coached team will be difficult to beat and this will be the Bucs’ toughest challenge going forward.

Prediction: Buccaneers 20, Chargers 21

It’s been pretty fun watching the Cowboys struggle this year. The American team has had a tough time in 2024 and while things looked better in Week 12 with a wild win over the Commanders, hopefully the Bucs shouldn’t have any problems against Jerry Jones’ ‘Boys’.

This is a road game, but don’t be surprised if Bucs fans travel to the Big D to watch their team play in Jerry World. Hopefully the Buccaneers overcome the Cowboys’ absolute drag to improve their playoff chances while continuing to sink the Cowboys.

Prediction: Buccaneers 34, Cowboys 17

After two road games, Tampa ends its season with two games at Raymond James Stadium, where they have been disappointing this year with a 2-4 record. The good news is that the Bucs face lesser opponents in their final two games.

First up are the Panthers, who will meet the Bucs for the second time in a month. As mentioned in that first article, the Panthers don’t appear to be as lazy as they were earlier in the year, and it looks like benching second-year signal-caller Bryce Young has actually helped his development.

However, the Bucs need this win to get into the playoffs, while the Panthers are hoping for a higher draft pick. This should hopefully be an easy win for Tampa (or as easy as a win can get in the NFL).

Prediction: Buccaneers 35, Panthers 24

It could all depend on what happens in Week 18, and if that’s the case, the Bucs will at least get to host the struggling Saints in their final game of the season. New Orleans has recovered a bit after losing seven straight games and firing Dennis Allen, winning its last two games and no longer looking like a joke.

Still, there is hope that the Bucs can at least win in the final game of the season and punch their ticket to the playoffs (although it would be better if they could prevail before then). If so, that should be enough to motivate the good guys to win this game. Unfortunately, it could also serve as motivation for the Saints to come to Tampa and end their division rival’s playoff hopes. Hopefully that’s not the case.

Prediction: Buccaneers 24, Saints 21

If these predictions come true, the Buccaneers will finish the season with a win in five of their last six games, giving them a record of 10-7. The Falcons have a more difficult schedule than the Bucs, facing the Chargers, Vikings, Raiders, Giants, Commanders and Panthers in their final six games. Of these matchups, the only easy wins were against the Raiders and Giants, the rest are toss-ups.

Since the Falcons looked so bad before their Week 12 bye, the hope is that they don’t break out of their rut and that the Bucs can overtake them in the division standings. If the Falcons lose at least three games, the Bucs can come from 5-1 to win the NFC South title, which is entirely possible given their tough schedule.

Fingers crossed, Bucs fans!