Win early.
If they can do it twice in the past two years, they can do it a third time.
Back in 2023 the Bucs, sitting at 4-7 entering December, had to win five of their last six games to win the division.
Last year the Bucs nearly dug themselves a hole too big to climb out of and won six of their last seven games to win the NFC South.
Nick Shook is banking on the same for [a third-straight year](https://www.nfl.com/news/2025-nfl-schedule-nfc-south-takeaways-full-list-of-games-for-buccaneers-falcons-panthers-saints). The NFL.com analyst isn’t suggesting the Bucs are going to paint themselves into a corner like they did last year.
However, Shook looks at the final weeks of the season and believes, if they need to, the Bucs ought to be able to navigate the final weeks of the season quite nicely.
> The Buccaneers, who won six of their final seven regular-season games in 2024, end the 2025 campaign with six consecutive games against teams that missed the playoffs.
Well, that helps that the Bucs have quasi-cupcakes in the final six weeks of the season. Just in case they need to make another desperate march.
But the way to avoid these win-to-survive fires is to beat the hell out of teams in the first three months of the season. No let-ups. No losing streaks.
If the Bucs have a strong first half of the season, maybe they won’t need to play such high-wire act games in December.