Are the Bucs the best 2-5 team in the history of football?
It’s a ridiculous question, but it almost feels like a reasonable one on a happy Victory Sunday night. That’s “happy” if you’re not hoping for a top-5 draft pick.
The Bucs blew out a solid Panthers team today 43-13 at Carolina.
One thought-provoking nugget about these Bucs is the combined strength of the teams they’ve played. Bucs opponents through seven weeks have a combined record of 29-16, which is ridiculously good.
Here’s the list:
Bengals 4-2 Browns 5-2 Vikings 6-0 Packers 4-3 Cowboys 2-4 Steelers 5-2
Panthers 3-3
For those keeping score at home, the two-win Bucs beat the sad Cowboys in addition to the Panthers today.
Of course, all that really matters is the outcome of the Bucs-Falcons game Sunday in Tampa. Atlanta (3-4) is a full game ahead of the Bucs in the NFC South landfill standings. And for Joe, the game after that in Chicago is just as critical.
If the Bucs beat Atlanta and lose to Chicago to sit at 3-6 at Tampa Bay’s bye week, then the Bucs would need to finish 6-2 just to have a winning regular season. That may seem realistic today, but would remains more hope and prayer than anything else with a 3-6 record.