"Race to 10" Update: Week 14

A peek ahead at the upcoming schedule of the 8-5 Tampa Bay Buccaneers:

Past:

WIN 17-14 Cleveland; Buccaneers Ranked #27

WIN 20-7 Carolina; Buccaneers Ranked #20

LOSS 38-13 Pittsburgh; Buccaneers Ranked #22

WIN 24-21 Cincinnati; Buccaneers Ranked #17

LOSS 31-6 New Orleans; Buccaneers Ranked #19

WIN 18-17 Saint Louis; Buccaneers Ranked #17

WIN 38-35 Arizona; Buccaneers Ranked #13

LOSS 21-28 Atlanta; Buccaneers Ranked #13

WIN 31-20 Carolina, Buccaneers Ranked #13

WIN 21-0 San Francisco; Buccaneers Ranked #12

LOSS 17-10 Baltimore; Buccaneers Ranked #13

LOSS 28-24 Atlanta; Buccaneers Ranked #13 

WIN 17-16 Washington; Buccaneers Ranked #12 (Current NFL expert ranking)

Up Next:

Detroit (3-10)  #28

Upcoming:

Seattle (6-7)  #20

@New Orleans (10-3)  #3

Remaining Schedule Cumulative Record: 19-20

This is it.  Crunch time.  Meaningful games in December.  The Stretch Run.  The Playoff Push.  The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are in a tight race and cannot afford to do what the Green Bay Packers did last weekend -- lose to the Detroit Lions.  Can you believe that 3-13 last year could finish as high as 11-5 this season??

Using the NFL.com expert consensus rankings (which change weekly), the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are still on course for a 10-6 finish!  I wish I knew for sure it would be enough for a playoff spot but the NFC is top heavy this season -- it should be good enough!!