Rachaad WhiteKevin Sabitus/Getty Images
Week 17 Result: Lost vs. New Orleans 23-13
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers entered Week 17 as one of the hottest teams in the league. Quarterback Baker Mayfield was playing as well as he ever had. If the Bucs beat an inconsistent Saints team in Tampa, and they would win the NFC South.
That is not what happened. Tampa played flat. Made mistake after mistake. And after a 10-point loss, head coach Todd Bowles didn’t mince words while speaking to reporters.
“It doesn’t matter who we played today. Good team, bad team, a college team, high school team, we wouldn’t have won,” he said.
Running back Rachaad White echoed those sentiments.
“Very disappointing, to be honest with you,” White said. “This is sickening. We didn’t come out to play. They got on us out of the jump. We came out dry. No juice, no energy, and they hit us in the mouth.”
However, Mayfield tried to put a positive spin on things.
“Luckily we have one more game to seal this thing,” Mayfield said. “Again, backs against the wall. It’s somewhere we’ve been before. We’ve got to get it fixed and move forward. All you need is a chance to get in and we’re still sitting right where we need to be.”
He has a point—beat the Carolina Panthers in Week 18, and Tampa makes the playoffs for the fourth straight year.
Of course, the team we saw Sunday will get killed in the Wild Card Round by the Eagles or Cowboys. But that’s a problem for another day.
>>> Read full article>>>
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source : Bleacher Report – https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10103039-2023-br-nfl-power-rankings-where-does-every-team-stand-entering-week-18
