(Photo courtesy of Buccaneers.com.)

Welcome to Merry Victory Christmas Monday! You probably have presents to open and liquor to drink, so let’s get going so you can enjoy your holiday. Grab your hot chocolate or egg nog and let’s roll.   [read more]

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BY IRA KAUFMAN

What a difference a day makes. December 10th to be exact.

That’s the day the Bucs rallied for a 29-25 victory in Atlanta. They haven’t been the same team since.

Just ask the reeling Jaguars, who were never competitive during Sunday’s 30-12 setback. That’s four consecutive losses for Jacksonville and four straight victories for Tampa Bay.

Had the Bucs lost to the Falcons that fateful afternoon, they would have dropped to 5-8, with seven losses in nine games. Todd Bowles would have been a dead man walking and Buc Nation would have turned their attention to a quarterback-rich draft. The Kyle Trask mob would have been howling for No. 2 to replace Baker Mayfield.

But that’s not what happened. Mayfield threw a game-winning TD pass to Cade Otton in Atlanta and the last two weeks has seen this offense and defense come together impressively. Suddenly, the Bucs have the look of a dangerous team. They can wrap up a third consecutive NFC South crown by sweeping the Saints next week and confidence couldn’t have been higher in the locker room after dismantling the Jaguars.

Talk about your changed narratives.

Buc Nation is warming up to Bowles, although it’s been a slow crawl. Mayfield has won over teammates, coaches and fans with his blue-collar approach and passion for the game. Three potential free agents — Mayfield, Mike Evans and Antonio Winfield Jr. — are making compelling cases to remain Buccaneers for 2024.

It could all come crashing down in the next two weeks, but that feels unlikely at the moment. Instead, it feels like this is a franchise that survived a midseason meltdown and came out stronger for the struggle. [read more]

Joe hopes everyone has a wonderful Christmas.

For Joe, Christmas comes every day because Joe gets to write about the Bucs every day. Without readers like you, this site doesn’t exist. It is no more complex than that.

So Joe hopes all fans, including Joe’s many haters, find under the Christmas tree what they wanted from Santa. Maybe a bottle or two, as well.

Now don’t try to polish off that bottle in one day!

Thanks to everyone for reading.

Among best in NFC.

Did anyone have this on their bingo card? [read more]

Baker Mayfield is a true believer. [read more]

No rest, no way.

It was 30-6 after three quarters. It was a blowout. Time to pull some starters to prevent injuries and give backups a dozen or so quality snaps, right? [read more]

Step aside.

It took five starts, just five starts. And the Bucs have a new sacks leader. [read more]

Team Glazer is left to ponder the question facing most Bucs fans: “How good are we?”

When your team wins four in a row in December, you’ve earned the right to ask the question without someone throwing a rotten tomato in your direction. [read more]

What problem?

So was Devin White healthy last week and didn’t want to play or was he not healthy and couldn’t play. Bucs fans may never know for sure. [read more]

Bucs GM Jason Licht.

Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht had a pump-the-brakes message on Baker Mayfield today. [read more]

Monster game.

Say it with Joe, all together now: Antoine Winfield is a gamewrecker. [read more]

Admit it, you’re pissed that you didn’t ask Santa for Buccaneers gear when you sent that letter off to the North Pole four weeks ago. [read more]

Detained.

Yes, this is Joe’s sad Christmas Eve tradition. But it is an otherwise hopeful Christmas, as Santa has allowed the Bucs to still be oh so close to a division title. [read more]

Strong return.

Most Bucs fans were like Joe: They had given up on Devin White because it appeared White had given up on the Bucs. [read more]

Interesting comment from head coach Todd Bowles after today’s seal-clubbing of the Jaguars at The Licht House. [read more]

“Blaine, somebody coached up Baker.”

Like many Bucs fans, one Joe at JoeBucsFan.com world headquarters thinks it blasphemy to say Baker Mayfield has been an upgrade from Tom Brady this season.

The Joe typing here thinks Brady is a big boy and can handle the truth. [read more]