Numbers Are Dubious For Bucs’ Playoff Hopes
September 23rd, 2026
In a pinch.
“This Joe” has always said, you play for the playoffs or you play for the draft. And the Bucs are on the cusp of the latter this weekend.
Since the playoffs were expanded to 14 teams in 2020, 16 percent of 0-2 teams have reached the playoffs.
The Bucs haven’t started a season 0-2 since, fittingly, lousy Lovie Smith’s first season as head coach in 2014. The Bucs have never made the playoffs after an 0-2 start.
But it gets worse. Since 2020, just one team has made the playoffs after an 0-3 start. That was last year’s Houston Texans.
And this just in: The Bucs don’t have anywhere near the defense of last year’s Texans.
Joe knows the Bucs could still pull this off. The numbers do not factor in the horrid NFC South landfill. So even though the Bucs may be off to an awful start, the division remains a joke.
Joe knows what Team Glazer tends to do when a coach has back-to-back losing seasons with no playoff appearance in either.
September 23rd, 2026 at 9:09 am
I was saying this two days ago: based upon league results from the las time they expanded the playoff format, the Bucs have about a 12% chance of making the playoffs. Only 3 teams have made a deep run, and no team in almost 20 years.
September 23rd, 2026 at 9:12 am
Theater of the Absurd!
.
Joes !
Stop addressing this situation as if it’s something that can be fixed.
2026 Tampa Bay Buccaneers was DOA !
Bowels knows football
Bowels CAN NOT COACH!
Jets fans WARNED us !
September 23rd, 2026 at 9:12 am
^^by “last time,” I meant expansion to 12 teams. Not 2020’s 14 teams. Adding the two teams didn’t significantly impact the results, if it jumped from 12% to 16%.
September 23rd, 2026 at 9:15 am
Super pumped that installment 2 of 2027 season passes has already hit! Maybe that will be our year!
September 23rd, 2026 at 9:16 am
No….you play to win…..period.
September 23rd, 2026 at 9:18 am
So when do the Bucs start playing for the draft? At 0-3, 0-4, or 0-5?
Say, this Might make a good poll.
September 23rd, 2026 at 9:18 am
Playoffs for the Bucs are gonna be very difficult this year with both the Saints and Panthers looking like real contenders and also the inconsistency the Bucs have shown over the past 3 or so years. I mean they play like Super Bowl contenders this week and next week they play like basement franchise
September 23rd, 2026 at 9:19 am
Folks!
Stop groveling for anything less than excellence!
Wildcard games are
NOT THE PLAYOFFS!
They are consolation games for mediocre teams
September 23rd, 2026 at 9:22 am
Paid the QB $55 million and the season is over by week 3. What a clown show.
September 23rd, 2026 at 9:23 am
I am of the opinion that teams should play to win the game Joe. Regardless of all the talk of tanking. Despicable.
Go Bucs!
September 23rd, 2026 at 9:23 am
Playoffs!!! Playoffs!!! There is none we will be talking draft come next week at this time after they lose Sunday and go 0-3 After Sunday the only articles we should be seeing from Joe are coaching candidates and Draft. It is really sad to be a Bucs fan right now when we’re going to be talking draft before we even get to October. Thanks Bowles and Licht for wasting another year.
September 23rd, 2026 at 9:23 am
As long as our putrid pass, defense stays putrid, we’re not going anywhere.
September 23rd, 2026 at 9:26 am
Playoff chances are the last thing I’m concerned about right now regarding this team.
September 23rd, 2026 at 9:31 am
Could they turn it around? Sure.
Will they? No.
I preached about a guaranteed at least 3 game losing streak and losses to teams they should have beaten.
And here we are. After 2 weeks.
Maybe the contract distractions had something to do with it.
September 23rd, 2026 at 9:38 am
These clowns dont play hard they have no guts at all. End of year
Trade vea awj baker cut Godwin and zyon this team needs a new coach new gm and new core
These ppl are lifeless.
September 23rd, 2026 at 9:39 am
The fire Fraud Bowels calls were serious and warranted at the end of the 2024 season.
September 23rd, 2026 at 9:41 am
This is why keeping Bowles was such a catastrophic mistake. He just flat sucks at everything he touches.
Unless you are in a food challenge he’s completely worthless.
He should go into politics next. Failing upwards is his superpower.
Malcom Glazer would not have settled for this slop.
He wanted to win above all else. Not just fight for the scraps.
September 23rd, 2026 at 9:42 am
The NFC South isn’t that bad. The Saints just beat the Ravens and took the Lions to the wire. The Panthers look well-coached. Only the Bucs and the Falcons look truly terrible.
September 23rd, 2026 at 9:55 am
While the NFC South isn’t great, the Saints definitely have proven they can at least compete if not beat good teams. This situation reminds me of the transition from Koetter to Arians… just need to get competent coaches and the Bucs will compete.
September 23rd, 2026 at 10:14 am
If they make the playoffs
They are one and done in the playoffs
If they get a very high draft pick
They will waste it on the likes of , ATM Winston, Devin White, Vita Vea
This is just a bad franchise
September 23rd, 2026 at 10:46 am
PLAYOFFS?!?!
September 23rd, 2026 at 10:56 am
It’s early in the season and we are 1 game out of first place. We of course need to prove we can start winning and the best time to do that is RIGHT NOW.
September 23rd, 2026 at 12:22 pm
I know one thing for sure. Kit-kat eating Todd Bowles should lay off the Kit-kats.
September 23rd, 2026 at 12:25 pm
This team has no sense of urgency!!!!!!!!!!
even baker said: its not playoff time yet….lol….and this is after missing the playoffs last year!!!!
GO BUCS!!!!
September 23rd, 2026 at 12:41 pm
Inspire Change…my favorite picture. I have a great idea where to start!
September 23rd, 2026 at 1:00 pm
By not replacing Bowles and Licht, the Bucs chose to make this a wasted season.
We are playing for high draft picks, to lure in a new coach.
Sit Mayfield. No need to risk him.
Wirfs and Vea are playing like trash- they can keep playing.
The rest of the team is mediocre or worse. No loss.
We’ll see how next year pans out
September 23rd, 2026 at 1:17 pm
The sad part is NO and CAR are turning it around faster than Todd with a 4 year head start
NO just beat the Ravens and CAR has hung over 30 twice in a row – we might lose 4 of 6 division games this season…
September 23rd, 2026 at 1:31 pm
So, Joe, at what point do you switch from predicting playoff odds to draft position odds? I have a feeling in about two weeks, our interest will shift away from the current season to the draft.
What we are witnessing on the field right now is just a continuation of last season. That is a trend. The fact that the Glazer thought it was wise to offer Mayfield a new contract when there was absolutely no urgency to do it, just tells me they lack the foresight to recognize the commonality from last year to this year: Bowles and Baker. They both need to go.
September 23rd, 2026 at 2:30 pm
Jesus. That pic of Todd. He need to put the fork down. And start injecting ozempic.
September 23rd, 2026 at 4:15 pm
This team is competing for the bottom of the NFC South, not the top.
This team is a ruderless ship. Every early draft pick is just more meat for the grinder and every free agent is just cashing checks.
This clown had Brady, Gronk, Evans, Godwin, Fournette, and almost the entire Super Bowl defense and he barely squeaked out a .500 season. He has a ceiling of a perennial .500 record in the worst division in the NFL.
September 23rd, 2026 at 5:09 pm
Todd is currently 35-35 as Bucs Head Coach. Sorry by most teams standards but by Bucs standards, the Money Grubbing Glazers consider him royalty. I guess if you compare Todd to Leeman Bennet who was a whopping 4-28, Todd is stellar. Bottom line is, season is over. We all know Todd has no clue how to “right the ship”, make adjustments or inspire his athletes. He’s too busy making jersey swap bets on college game with our sub-standard, over paid QB. It’s A Bucs Life.
September 23rd, 2026 at 5:18 pm
Rumor on the street is Todd will quit and go into competitive eating. He’s hoping for a pay-per-view against Joey Chestnut.