Bucs win crucial unnecessary game to end regular season 11-5

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Atlanta Falcons 44-27 at Raymond James Stadium Sunday afternoon.

The Bucs had already clinched a playoff berth last week so this game had no influence over that. However, with the win, they have now secured the 5th seed in the National Football Conference and will face whatever group of sub-.500 scrubs that manage to crawl out of the NFC East as “division champions”, probably the Washington Football Team, which looks as stupid in print as it is to say. The New York Giants have an outside chance of getting in if the Philadelphia Eagles beat Washington.

Every team in those scenarios is dog poop so who knows? What’s certain is that as the number five seed, the Bucs will face a team with at least seven losses while the number six seed will go against a team with at least 11 wins.

“Yeah, the NFL is kind of stupid like that”, said Bucs head coach Bruce Arians. “But you won’t hear us complaining about it.”

Quarterback Tom Brady went 26-for-41 with 399 yards, four touchdown passes and one interception. Wide receiver Mike Evans set an NFL record by becoming the first receiver to notch 1,000 yards in each of his first seven seasons before suffering a leg injury in the second quarter and not returning to the game.