Buccaneers Remain Stuck in No Man’s Land in Latest NFL Power Rankings
· Yahoo Sports
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers remain where no professional sports team wants to be after their loss to the Chicago Bears on Sunday night.
Right in the middle.
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The Bucs have had their moments this season, but have proven that their current roster is not good enough to compete for a title.
It’s also not bad enough to earn a top draft pick who could ride in on a white horse and help take the team to another level.
To make things worse, the Bucs organization wasted a great opportunity at the trade deadline on Tuesday to move the needle in either direction.
By not being buyers or sellers, Tampa Bay has doomed itself to remain in the middle for the foreseeable future.
The Bucs could have brought in a playmaker or two on offense to capitalize on their terrific defense and give themselves a chance to do some damage in the playoffs, if they get there.
They could have decided to trade away some of their veterans/pending free agents for valuable draft picks that could have helped them build a contender.
They did neither and now face an upcoming offseason with several difficult decisions to make.
If the roster isn't good enough to contend, will the Bucs really want to pay YaYa Diaby and/or Cody Mauch what it will cost to keep them? What about Vita Vea’s $24 million guaranteed salary for 2027?
If the Bucs lose or choose to move on from any of those guys, they will look very foolish for not getting something in return.
ESPN continues to rank the Bucs in no man’s land. In its Week 10 NFL power rankings, the Bucs remained 18th despite their loss to the Bears.
How Will The Bucs Respond After Their Bye Week?The Bucs are currently on their bye week, and how they respond in their next game could determine what happens for the rest of the season.
In this week's power rankings, ESPN selected the most important game each team has remaining on its schedule.
For the Bucs, Jeremy Fowler chose Tampa's Week 11 contest against the Detroit Lions. The Lions are one of only two teams left on the Bucs' schedule with a winning record (Rams).
Fowler says the Lions are a beatable team for the Bucs, and dropping to 3-7 could be too big a hole to dig out of.
"Most important game of the second half: Week 11 at the Lions
"The Bucs play in the NFC South, where a 3-6 record is acceptable if not celebrated. But falling to 3-7 out of the bye would create a deeper hole than Tampa Bay would like to manage. Detroit is stacked but beatable. After this game, Tampa's schedule is weak; the Bucs face just one team (Rams) that currently has a winning record over the final seven weeks. It would be nice for them to enter that stretch within striking range of a playoff berth. -- Jeremy Fowler"
Final ThoughtsI think the Bucs made a mistake by not doing anything at the deadline.
Tampa Bay will have to step up after the bye week if it wants to make a playoff push this season. Hopefully, the Bucs can capitalize on playing in the NFC South and get back to the postseason.
Unfortunately, their lack of activity at the deadline likely limits the Bucs' ceiling at reaching the playoffs but not doing any damage once they get there.