ATLANTA – Of all teams, the Atlanta Falcons could be the one that ultimately knocks the Tampa Bay Buccaneers out of the NFC playoffs.
“Hey, that’d be cool,” Bijan Robinson, the Falcons star running back, said after his huge, 229-yard performance fueled an upset of the Los Angeles Rams on Monday night.
Sure, the Bucs can stay alive by defeating the Carolina Panthers in an NFC South showdown on Saturday.
Yet to claim a fifth straight division crown and advance to the playoffs, the Bucs also need the Falcons – eliminated from the playoffs in mid-December — to lose against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday. If the Bucs top Carolina and the Falcons win their finale, it would set up a three-way tie of 8-9 teams atop the NFC South…with Carolina winning the division and playoff berth based on a three-way tiebreaker.
Thus, the Bucs’ dreaded division rival could have a prime opportunity to play spoiler. Carolina’s tiebreaker edge would come because of a better record in games between the three teams.
“That’s so unfortunate, so unfortunate to hear,” said Robinson, told of the Bucs’ plight. “A three-way tie, I wish it was us. I wish it was up to the last game to determine who’s in the playoffs.”
Well, in one sense, it may come down to the last game for the Falcons to have a say in the playoff race. They can close the season with a five-game winning streak and claim a share of the division title. It’s just that it still wouldn’t be enough to get into the playoffs.
Of course, the simplest path for the Panthers (8-8) is to defeat the Bucs and complete a sweep of the season series. If not, Carolina can then root for the Falcons.
Tampa Bay, meanwhile, could have its playoff fate hinging on Atlanta.
“Man, that would suck,” Robinson added. “But it is what it is.”
What a fitting piece of potential drama for Week 18.
“You just never know what can happen in this league,” Robinson said.
And if Panthers fans wake up on Sunday and are so moved to make the trek to Mercedes-Benz Stadium to root for the Falcons, tickets are still available.
Contact Jarrett Bell at jbell@usatoday.com or follow on X: @JarrettBell