The Buccaneers need wins along with some help from Falcons opponents in the final two weeks of the season to win the NFC South and safety Jordan Whitehead might be able to help with their end of that equation.
Whitehead has been designated to return from injured reserve. The veteran has missed the last four games after injuring his pectoral muscle.
The move opens a 21-day window to activate Whitehead and he could be back in the lineup as soon as this weekend’s game against the Panthers.
Whitehead started the first 11 games of the season for Tampa. He has 76 tackles, two tackles for loss, three passes defensed and one quarterback hit.
The Buccaneers fell out of first place in the NFC South on Sunday night, with their loss dropping their record to 8-7, the same as the Falcons’ record, and the Falcons owning the head-to-head tiebreaker. But the betting odds say the Bucs should still feel confident.
Tampa Bay remains the favorite to win the NFC South: The Buccaneers are -135 favorites at DraftKings, while the Falcons are +110 underdogs.
Because the Falcons have clinched the tiebreaker, the Buccaneers have to finish ahead of them in the standings to win the division. The most likely way for the Buccaneers to do that would be to win both of their final two games (against the Panthers and Saints) while the Falcons lose one of their two remaining games (against the Commanders and Panthers.)
The Falcons are 4.5-point underdogs at Washington on Sunday night, so the oddsmakers are expecting an Atlanta loss to open the door to Tampa Bay. A week from now, the Bucs could be back in first place, and the Falcons could be the ones scoreboard watching in Week 18.
The Buccaneers picked a bad night to have a bad night in Dallas.
A four-game winning streak moved the Bucs into first place in the NFC South and gave them a clear path to the postseason, but Sunday night’s 26-24 loss to the Cowboys erased any advantage that they were able to gain. They now have the same record as the Falcons, but their two losses to Atlanta means the Bucs do not control their playoff destiny as they head into the final two weeks of the season.
On Monday morning, Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles said the key for the team is to concentrate on their business rather than on what anyone else is doing.
“It won’t be difficult,” Bowles said, via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. “We’ve got to win a ballgame. If we don’t win a ballgame, we don’t give ourselves a chance. We’ve got to focus on ourselves like we’ve been doing and we’ve got to correct our mistakes and we’ve got to go out and win Sunday and we’ve got to win the next week and we’ll what happens after that.’'
Winning out and missing the playoffs would be a bitter pill for the Bucs to swallow, especially since they have beaten both the Lions and Eagles this season and would not have a chance to do so again in January.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones skipped through the tunnel on his way to the locker room, a big smile on his face after the 26-24. He put coach Mike McCarthy in a bear hug in the locker room.
Jones was downright giddy.
“Mike McCarthy, he just won’t let them not think they’re playing for the Super Bowl out there. He won’t let them do it. Proud of that. Proud of the coach,” Jones said.
The Cowboys were eliminated from playoff contention before kickoff. They didn’t talk about it as a team, but they knew it.
Yet, they won anyway against a team that needed to win to stay atop its division.
“There’s many things that have gone into us sitting here not in the playoffs, and you can start with me,” Jones said. “I’m not trying to be any way other than a lot of people contribute to it when you win. A lot of people contribute to it when you don’t. But, boy, give me that kind of effort, that kind of professionalism. Those guys came out and played as if they were fighting in the championship to go to the Super Bowl. I can’t tell you how proud of them and the coaching staff I am. It really shows me something.”
Jones repeatedly praised McCarthy in his five-minute postgame news conference.
McCarthy is in the final year of his contract, but it now seems more likely he returns than it did six weeks ago or six months ago. McCarthy, though, also has a say in his future since he isn’t under contract for 2025.
Jones said he doesn’t have “anything I’d share” about what will transpire at the season’s end in two weeks.
McCarthy is 49-33 in the regular season in five seasons with the Cowboys but only 1-3 in the postseason.
“Mike’s an outstanding coach,” Jones said. “I’m proud that they got rewarded, and the team is playing at that level, because he’s got them coached up to play at that level, even though you realize that when you’re not in those playoffs, you can’t get to the big one, but he’s got this team [playing hard]. That’s as good of an emotional performance, an effort performance that I’ve seen us have. I don’t know what to compare it to.”
The Cowboys should be getting a Christmas card from the Falcons, who got a gift Sunday night.
The Cowboys dominated the Buccaneers start to finish, winning 26-24. They ended Tampa Bay’s four-game win streak and dropped the Bucs into a first-place tie with the Falcons in the NFC South. Both teams are 8-7, and Atlanta holds the tiebreak after sweeping Tampa Bay this season.
The Cowboys, who were eliminated from playoff contention Sunday afternoon, improved to 7-8.
Tampa Bay outgained Dallas 411 to 317 with most of the Bucs’ yards coming late in a hurry-up offense as they tried to rally from a nine-point deficit in the fourth quarter.
Cowboys quarterback Cooper Rush passed for 292 yards and a touchdown in completing 26 of 35 passes. CeeDee Lamb caught seven passes for 105 yards, with only one catch for 5 yards coming in the second half after he aggravated his shoulder injury late in the second quarter.
Brandon Aubrey kicked field goals of 58, 49, 58 and 43 yards.
The Cowboys sacked Baker Mayfield four times, and Cowboys cornerback Jourdan Lewis turned a Bucs touchdown into an interception by stealing the pass from Jalen McMillian in the end zone with 6:22 left. A touchdown would have drawn the Bucs to within 26-24.
The Bucs finally did get that close, but Mayfield’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Miller came with only 2:36 left on the clock.
Tampa Bay’s last chance ended with 1:31 left when Cowboys cornerback DaRon Bland pulled the ball out of Rachaad White’s arms for a fumble recovery after White’s 5-yard reception. Mayfield had avoided a sack to get the ball to White, only to see the game end with White’s third lost fumble of the season.
Mayfield completed 31 of 43 passes for 304 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Mike Evans caught five passes for 69 yards. Bucky Irving had 16 carries for 68 yards and a touchdown.
