Tampa Bay Buccaneers Week 13 playoff picture: making up ground on two fronts

Don't look now, but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are knocking on the doorstep of a playoff spot.  Despite losing 5 of their last 6 games going into last Sunday, the Bucs now sit just one game back in the standings of the idle Atlanta Falcons after a 30-7 win over the New York Giants on Sunday. 

According to the NFL.com playoff picture engine, the Bucs have a 54% chance of making the playoffs despite sitting in the 9 seed and out of the playoffs through 12 weeks.  That's in large part because the Bucs have the second easiest remaining schedule by win percentage entering last Sunday.  

That's also because the Bucs are one game back in the loss column of both the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC South AND the Washington Commanders - who lost to Dallas 34-26 on Sunday - for the seventh and final Wild Card spot.  

The Bucs would lose a tiebreaker to the Falcons by virtue of getting swept in the season series.  As such, they'll have to finish ahead of Atlanta at the end of the season since they'd lose a tie.  However, they hold a head-to-head advantage over the Washington Commanders for a Wild Card tie by virtue of the Bucs' 37-20 win back in Week 1.  That win could end up paying dividends for Tampa Bay.

The Bucs stand in position to potentially move even closer this weekend.  Tampa Bay plays at Carolina, while the Falcons host a current playoff team in the Los Angeles Chargers.  The Commanders host the Titans - who just upset the Texans on Houston - on Sunday.