SI Power Rankings: Buccaneers Fall Hard After Loss to Saints
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A bad loss in the NFL can change the perception of a team in an instant. That's why it really shouldn't be too much of a surprise that the Buccaneers fell out of the top-5 in Sports Illustrated's latest power rankings. They are tied for sixth place this week.
The Bucs were shutout, 9-0, in what was their seventh straight regular-season loss to New Orleans. The Saints had their way with the Bucs offense all night long and made the almighty Tom Brady look pedestrian, again.
This is what SI had to say about the Bucs heading into Week 16:
T-6. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10–4)
Last week: Loss vs. New Orleans, 9–0
Next week: at Carolina
The Chris Godwin loss is brutal, not only because of his pass-catching role but because of his run-game value as an elite blocker on the perimeter. Bruce Arians responded by once again humiliating himself, welcoming back Antonio Brown one year after trying (and failing) to preserve his dignity upon Brown’s initial signing in Tampa, when Arians proclaimed “he screws up one time, he’s gone.” This time, Arians doubled down on the empty tough guy talk (he swore, that’s how you know he’s a tough guy), but this time around it was directed toward people who criticized the decision to go back on his word. You know, critics like the many, many people Brown has wronged over the years, and who feel he has to at the very least show a modicum of contrition before some goober like Arians—apparently not confident in his ability to assemble a working offense with merely the greatest quarterback of all-time, the greatest tight end of all-time, one All-Pro receiver and a top-five offensive line—became the latest in Brown’s orbit to step in as an enabler. Anyway, I rank the Bucs tied for sixth.
Tampa Bay faces another division opponent in the Panthers this week, but they don't represent the same challenge the Saints do. On paper, at least.
Either way, the Bucs need to be ready because the Panthers have one of the league's better pass rushes. This is important because Tampa Bay's offensive line struggled against the Saints and allowed a season-high four sacks and seven quarterback hits on the night.
But as a whole, the Bucs should be able to wrap up the NFC South title with a win against the Panthers, who are tied for 25th in SI's power rankings this week.
T-25. Carolina Panthers (5–9)
Last week: Loss at Buffalo, 31–14
Next week: vs. Tampa Bay
It’s an organization that, from the top down, has operated with a franticly urgent approach that doesn’t match where they are as an organization. They jettisoned a bright young offensive coordinator because he couldn’t MacGyver a consistent offense out of two really good receivers, an offensive line assembled from pieces pulled off the scrap heap, and a QB room made up of a former high draft pick with three years of atrocious film, a former XFL star and a street free agent signed in November. Whomever is fueling the panic in Carolina needs to get a grip—this team’s ceiling was seven wins.
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