Bucs, Cardinals To Meet In Battle Of Underachievers

When the 2022 NFL schedule was released back in May, a Week 16 meeting between the Bucs and Cardinals – on Christmas night, no less – stood out as a marquee game.

Now, as the two teams prepare to square off at State Farm Stadium on Sunday night, it’s less of a marquee matchup and more of a battle between two underachieving teams.

The Bucs are 6-8, having lost back-to-back games since their thrilling come-from-behind win over the Saints on Monday Night Football in Week 13. The Cardinals, meanwhile, are 4-10 and down to their No. 3 quarterback after Kyler Murray tore his ACL two weeks ago and backup Colt McCoy suffered a concussion last week. With three games to play, they’re left to fight with the 4-10 Rams for third place in the NFC West (or better draft positioning, if you want to look at it that way).

Instead of Tom Brady vs. Kyler Murray, it’s Brady vs. Trace McSorley. And instead of a potential playoff preview between two of the NFC’s contenders, it’s a contest between a team clinging to its playoff hopes by a thread and a team with nothing left to play for.

How did we get here? For the Bucs, it’s been a dramatic fall from being an NFC favorite when Brady announced his return from retirement. Their offense has been one of the least productive in the NFL, leaving their defense to shoulder more weight all season long. And despite a 2-0 start to the season, Tampa Bay has never looked like a true contender. At this point, the team is in “somehow manage to win this terrible NFC South and see what happens in the playoffs” mode rather than “we’re a real Super Bowl contender” mode. And that’s a shame.

Arizona’s season has somehow been even more of a nightmare than Tampa Bay’s. After starting 2-2, the Cardinals have gone 2-8 since. That almost puts things into perspective for the Bucs, who have gone 4-6 since their own 2-2 start. It’s been a mixture of a poor defense and an up-and-down offense – and now injuries – that has head coach Kliff Kingsbury firmly on the hot seat. This wasn’t necessarily a Cardinals team that was expected to compete for a Super Bowl in 2022, but they’re bound to fall well short of their projected win total of 8.5. 

Unlike Cardinals, Bucs Still Have Something To Play For

Bucs QB Tom Brady – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

As disappointing and demoralizing as Sunday’s loss to the Bengals was, the Bucs inexplicably have everything to play for in the final three games of their regular season. They still have a one-game lead over everyone else in the NFC South, plus they have a 3-1 division record working in their favor. As crazy as it is, the division is theirs to lose, even at 6-8.

“We control our own destiny, right?” tight end Cameron Brate said Sunday night. “It just comes down to us executing and we’ve just got to find a way to get back on the right track.”

The Bucs will face a downtrodden Cardinals team on Sunday night, and they’re aware that Arizona has little to lose as the season nears its end.

“We know they’re going to be extra gritty,” Bucs linebacker Devin White said Wednesday. “They have nothing to lose and we’ve got everything to gain, so obviously it’d feel good for them to take that from us. But coming in as a good ball club, you’ve just got to go in and you’ve got to go take a win at their house.”

Everything Is Still On The Table For Tampa Bay

After Sunday’s primetime matchup, the Bucs will meet two of the teams they’re trying to hold off for the division crown. They’ll see Sam Darnold and the Panthers at home in Week 17 before closing out the season with a road trip to face rookie quarterback Desmond Ridder and the Falcons. But as favorable as the remaining schedule is for Tampa Bay, this isn’t a team that can afford to take anyone lightly.

“We’ve still got three games left,” left guard Nick Leverett said. “We can’t really pay attention to first place and all that. We’ve got to play like a first-place team. We’ve got to execute better, hone in on the small details and collectively all be on the same page. We’re not really focused on ‘We’re in first place.’ We’re focusing on becoming a better team and hopefully making the playoffs.”

Bucs HC Todd Bowles – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

If the Bucs can hold on for their second straight NFC South title, that will at least give them something to hang their hats on from what has otherwise been a woefully disappointing season. It’s not much, obviously, given the collective 21-35 record of the four teams, but another division title and a home playoff game is better than the alternative. Faltering down the stretch and missing the playoffs would ultimately be a complete waste of having Brady coming back for a third season as their quarterback. And there’s no telling as of right now whether or not they’ll get a fourth season with the greatest quarterback of all time under center.

“(Division championships) hard to come by,” head coach Todd Bowles said Wednesday. “Any division you win, regardless of whether you’re 17-0 or whether you’re 4-13, you win the division and you have a division banner. Then, you try out for your next goal to get to the Super Bowl. Our first goal is to win the division, so we’re trying to do that. If we can win the division, then we’ll try and focus on getting playoff games and winning the Super Bowl.”

So, yes, there’s plenty to play for on Christmas night. As the playoff picture stands, the Bucs would be hosting the 10-4 Dallas Cowboys on Wild Card Weekend. And as anyone who’s paid attention to the NFL would know, once you’re in the dance, there’s at least a chance. Tampa Bay knows it has to be better down the stretch to give itself a fighting chance come January.

“In football, all you can do is fight,” Bowles said after Sunday’s loss. “You can fight, you can play smarter, you can coach smarter and we have to keep fighting. We understand what we’re doing is not good enough by far. It’s not even close to good enough and we have three games left to try to save our season.”