The 12th week of the NFL's 2024 season was a good one for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' playoff hopes.
Most importantly, of course, the Buccaneers took care of their own business in the Meadowlands, trouncing the New York Giants, 30-7, to pull within one game of the idle Atlanta Falcons in the NFC South. Meanwhile, several middle-of-the-pack contenders in the NFC Wild Card race took a step back. Minnesota and Green Bay strengthened their holds on the first two Wild Card spots but the third one is much more muddled after losses by Washington, Arizona, San Francisco, Chicago and the Los Angeles Rams. Truly, Week 12 gave the Buccaneers a lot to be thankful for heading into Thanksgiving weekend.
Still, there is a long way to go and a lot of teams fighting for just a couple spots. To reiterate our point from last week, the Buccaneers essentially have two realistic paths to their fifth playoff berth in a row. One, they pick up a two-game swing with the Falcons (at least) and win a fourth straight NFC South title. Two, they fight through that crowded field of contenders for the third Wild Card spot and end up on top.
So, like we said last week, keep those twin goals in mind when you're choosing which teams to root for this weekend. And if you still find it a bit hard to choose, please allow me to help with that. Here are my suggestions for which teams besides the Buccaneers to root for between the three-game extravaganza on Thanksgiving and the Browns-Broncos capper on Monday night, with the games presented in chronological order. This is your 2024 Week 13 Viewing Guide.
Chicago Bears (4-7) at Detroit Lions (10-1), Thursday, 12:30 p.m. ET
This one might seem simple: The Bears are behind the Bucs in the NFC standings and the Lions are ahead of them both. Shouldn't we root for the teams we're chasing. In this case, not really. The Buccaneers aren't going to catch the Lions in the overall conference picture, so it's fine to just root for them to run away with the NFC North. So, to paraphrase Mortal Kombat, when it comes to the Bears, "Finish Them!" Chicago has lost five straight to drop to the fringes of the conference race, but on the other hand they are still only one game behind the Buccaneers. It would be nice if the Buccaneers are still in it in the last couple weeks but they only have one or two teams to worry about rather than four or five. Plus, if you're trying to avoid political conversations with family members on Thanksgiving, you need the football on the TV to be entertaining, and few teams are as entertaining as the Lions when they are hitting on all cylinders.
Verdict: Go Kneecap Biters!
New York Giants (2-9) at Dallas Cowboys (4-7), Thursday, 4:30 p.m. ET
The Cowboys did our bidding last week with their win over Washington, so let's give them an appreciative pat on the head and then tell them to go. Most of you will probably be happy I'm not telling you to root for Dallas again. In this case, apply the same logic as above: The Cowboys, like the Bears, are just a game behind the Bucs while the Giants are no threat at all. It might have been for the best if the Bucs had gotten out of MetLife Stadium last Sunday without injuring several key Giants, but we can't cry over spilt milk. You are all now Drew Lock fans for at least one day (and, really, he has always seemed like an easy guy to root for).
Verdict: Go Drew Lock!
Miami Dolphins (5-6) at Green Bay Packers (8-3), Thursday, 8:20 p.m. ET
As I noted above, the Packers are probably not one of the Buccaneers' main concern in this Wild Card race. They've got a three game lead on Tampa Bay with six to play, which is a steep cliff to find. Still, here against the AFC's Dolphins there's really no reason to root for Green Bay. If you're eyes can win the battle against tryptophan this late on Thanksgiving, you'll want them to see Tua Tagovailoa quell the notion that he can't win in cold weather.
Verdict: Go Dolphins!
Las Vegas Raiders (2-9) at Kansas City Chiefs (10-1), Friday, 3:00 p.m. ET
So much football this weekend! This is the inaugural Black Friday game…coming to you in the middle of the afternoon, for goodness sake! It's not a particularly important one for the Buccaneers, and it looks lopsided on paper, but the way the Chiefs are playing their games this season it will probably be entertaining and come down to some crazy Patrick Mahomes play at the end. If you really want a rooting interest, keep in mind that the Raider are coming to Tampa in Week 14. Perhaps a demoralizing beatdown in Kansas City would make it harder for them to summon up their best effort in the remaining weeks of a lost season.
Verdict: Go Mahomes Magic!
Los Angeles Chargers (7-4) at Atlanta Falcons (6-5), Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET
I'm sure it doesn't take much to get you to root against the Falcons, but this could a huge one. The Buccaneers could go into their 4:05 game on Sunday knowing they have a shot at a share of first place in the NFC South with a win over the Panthers. The good news for us is that Jim Harbaugh's crew has looked very good of late and quarterback Justin Herbert is playing at a very high level. The Chargers are also allowing the fewest points in the NFL, at 15.9 per game. Los Angeles had won four straight before it ran into the Ravens on Monday night, and they gave Baltimore a run for its money, too. If the Bucs can catch the Falcons this weekend, they would have five games left to make up one more game in the division race, rendering moot the Falcons' hammer of a head-to-head tiebreaker.
Verdict: Go Bolts!
Pittsburgh Steelers (8-3) at Cincinnati Bengals (4-7), Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET
Houston Texans (7-5) at Jacksonville Jaguars (2-9), Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET
Indianapolis Colts (5-7) at New England Patriots (3-9), Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET
Three of the eight games Sunday's early-afternoon window are all-AFC affairs, which basically means you can just sit back and enjoy them on their own merits. Furthermore, the Buccaneers haven't and will not play any of these six teams, so there are no strength of victory (SOV) or strength of schedule (SOS) considerations for Tampa Bay. The most interesting one here is the first one, as Pittsburgh tries to continue its surprising season and the Bengals try to remain relevant in the AFC race.
Verdict: Go to the store for snacks for the 4:00 p.m. games!
Seattle Seahawks (6-5) at New York Jets (3-8), Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET
Every season, there's always one completely dysfunctional team that implodes in a variety of very public ways, and this season it's the New York Jets. If you're not a fan of that team, it can be kind of fun to watch what it will do to itself next. However, take a break from rooting against the poor Jets this week because they are playing an NFC team that is one game ahead of the Buccaneers in the Wild Card standings. Of course, Seattle is also in first place in the NFC West, but at this point it's almost impossible to guess which team will end up with that division crown. All four teams are either 6-5 or 5-6, and it wouldn't be surprising to see any one of the four rise to the top. Until we get a better idea of who that is likely to be, though, it's best to just root against all four of them unless they're playing each other or Washington.
Verdict: Go Jets!
Arizona Cardinals (6-5) at Minnesota Vikings (9-2), Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET
The Buccaneers would need to pick up four games in six weeks on the Vikings for Minnesota's results to matter, and that's a tall order. Of more immediate concern is the Cardinals, who are sandwiched between the Commanders and the Buccaneers in the Wild Card standings right now. Even after a 16-6 loss in Seattle last weekend, the Cardinals have looked very frisky in the second half of the season. The Cardinals 3-4 record in conference games so far is not going to do them any favors in tiebreakers if it comes to that, and down the road we may go back to rooting for Arizona in upcoming games against the Seahawks, Rams and 49ers. For now, though we want to see the whole NFC West burn this week, including the Cardinals.
Verdict: Just like last week, Skol!
Tennessee Titans (3-8) at Washington Commanders (7-5), Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET
Other than the Bucs' own game and the Chargers visit to Atlanta, this is the most important game on the Week 13 schedule for Tampa Bay. Washington currently owns the third Wild Card spot, a half-game up on Arizona and 1.5 up on the Bucs, Rams and 49ers. (Washington will finally get its bye in Week 14.) The good news for the Buccaneers is they own a head-to-head tiebreaker over the Commanders, so they only have to catch them, not surpass them by the end of the season, as long as there are no other teams involved in the tie.
Verdict: Go Titans?
Los Angeles Rams (5-6) at New Orleans Saints (4-7), Sunday, 4:05 p.m. ET
Oh boy, you're not going to like this one. We really want both of these teams to lose, the Rams because they are tied with the Bucs in the overall standings and the Saints because they are the Saints. And, believe me, I don't want New Orleans hanging around in the NFC South race any more than you do. However, we have to keep both of the Bucs' paths to the playoffs in mind, and at this point I think knocking back the team higher in the conference standings is more important than dealing the Saints another loss. Also, the Buccaneers have already beaten the Saints once and will get another shot at them in Week 18. As we align our rooting interests, we're doing so with the assumption that the Buccaneers are going to win most of their remaining games, not because we actually know that but because all those other games won't matter much if the Bucs can't take care of their own record. It's certainly no disaster if the Saints lose, and indeed it would be enjoyable to watch, but I think in this case we have to grudgingly root for them.
Verdict: Go Saints. (Note the lack of an exclamation point.)
Philadelphia Eagles (9-2) at Baltimore Ravens (8-4), Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET
Philadelphia, which has won seven straight games since the Bucs beat them in Week Four, has a 2.5-game lead in the NFC East and a relatively easy schedule after this weekend. It seems very likely that they are going to win the division. There's not much for the Bucs to gain if the Eagles lose, and that would even hurt Tampa Bay's SOS and SOV figures. But the opponent is in the AFC and those tiebreakers don't really come into play very often. I guess there's an outside chance that if both the Bucs and Eagles are division winners that they could be fighting for the higher seed. Might as well root for the Ravens here.
Verdict: Go Lamar and King Henry!
San Francisco 49ers (5-6) at Buffalo Bills (9-2), Sunday, 8:20 p.m. ET
I'll admit it, I kind of enjoy Josh Allen and this iteration of the Bills. I find myself rooting for them most weeks and wouldn't mind seeing them unseat the Chiefs this season. This Sunday, I have more than aesthetic reasons to join in with the table jumpers, because the Buccaneers want no part of the 49ers hanging around in the NFC race. San Francisco is the only one of the four NFC West teams the Buccaneers will play this season, and the 49ers won that matchup in Week 10. In fact, it would probably be best for Tampa Bay if they emerged as the NFC West winner so that head-to-head tiebreaker wouldn't matter. For now, though, since a two-game slump has knocked them back to 5-6 I think it would be better to root for their continued demise.
Verdict: Go Table Jumpers!
Cleveland Browns (3-8) at Denver Broncos (7-5), Monday, 8:15 p.m. ET
The Broncos are currently in possession of the seventh playoff spot in the AFC. Who saw that coming? It's not exactly easy for the Buccaneers to root for the Broncos, however, given the presence of long-time NFC South tormentor Sean Payton. A Denver win would help the Bucs' SOV and SOS numbers, and I guess that's enough to root against Jameis Winston and the Browns here. If you can't do it, I don't blame you and it's really not that big of a deal.
Verdict: Go Jaboo!
