The Buccaneers had a chance to improve their standing in the NFC South in Week 14. They could have taken a two-game lead in the division with a win and moved above .500 for the first time since Week 5.
It wasn't expected to be an easy task. The Bucs were facing the NFC West-leading 49ers on the road, after all. However, San Francisco was starting rookie quarterback Brock Purdy for the first time, so many believed that Tampa Bay would have a chance to squeak out a win in a defensive battle.
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Instead, the Buccaneers fell completely flat. Purdy looked like the second coming of Tom Brady as the 49ers dominated Tampa Bay in a 35-7 shellacking.
"We got our ass kicked on offense," Bucs coach Todd Bowles said during his postgame news conference. "We got our ass kicked on defense."
The loss was as embarrassing for the Buccaneers as it was costly. Tampa Bay squandered not only an opportunity to expand its divisional lead, but its loss also allowed another team to move into the playoff race: the Panthers.
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Carolina pulled off a 30-24 upset win over the Seahawks on the road. The Panthers ran for 223 yards and won the turnover battle 2-0.
The Panthers are now a game behind the Buccaneers in the NFC South standings and could pose a threat as the season comes to a close.
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NFC South standings
The NFC South is one of the NFL's most tightly packed divisions as the postseason draws closer. Just two \wins separate the first- and last-place teams, the Buccaneers and the Saints.
Two teams are a game behind the Bucs. This matters greatly considering that it is expected that no teams in the division will be able to challenge for a wild-card spot.
How the standings look after Week 14:
| Pos | Team | W-L |
| 1 | Buccaneers | 6-7 |
| 2 | Panthers | 5-8 |
| 3 | Falcons | 5-8 |
| 4 | Saints | 4-9 |
The Buccaneers still control their destiny. That said, they don't exactly have an easy remaining schedule. They'll play the red-hot Bengals— winners of five straight — in Week 15 and then face the Cardinals, Panthers and Falcons, in that order, to close the season.
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With a two-game lead, the Buccaneers could have worried less about a potential loss to the Bengals or a head-to-head matchup with the Panthers or Falcons in a potential division-deciding game. But with just a one-game lead, their margin for error is razor-thin.
The Panthers climbed the standings thanks to their win over the Seahawks. They have the same record as the Falcons but own the divisional tiebreaker; Carolina's 3-1 division record is superior to Atlanta's 1-3 mark.
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Carolina also owns a head-to-head tiebreaker over Tampa Bay at this point. That makes the Panthers more likely to challenge the Buccaneers than the Falcons.
And it helps that the Panthers close the season with a slightly easier schedule than the Falcons:
| Week | Panthers' opponent | Falcons' opponent |
| 15 | vs. Steelers (5-8) | at Saints (4-9) |
| 16 | vs. Lions (6-7) | at Ravens (9-4) |
| 17 | at Buccaneers (6-7) | vs. Cardinals (4-8) |
| 18 | at Saints (4-9) | vs. Buccaneers (6-7) |
| Opp. W-L, winning pct | 21-31 (.404) | 23-28 (.451) |
Still, either team could push the Buccaneers for first place. That means the pressure is on in Tampa as Brady looks to avoid missing the playoffs for the first time since 2008, when he tore his ACL in Week 1.
