The Tampa Bay Buccaneers sit at 7-8 entering Week 17 with their playoff hopes both easily obtainable and on a knife's edge.
If the Buccaneers win both of their remaining games against the Miami Dolphins and Carolina Panthers, Todd Bowles' team will be headed back to the playoffs.
But there is also a real chance that if the Buccaneers lose and the Panthers win, Tampa Bay will be eliminated from playoff contention.
How does that reality sit with Bowles ahead of Week 17?
"The reality has been there with us for the past few weeks," Bowles said. "We just got to play mistake-free football, and we can't worry about losing. We got to play to win."
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Buccaneers' season on the live vs. Miami
Both the Buccaneers and Panthers play in the early window on Sunday, so Tampa Bay will likely be scoreboard-watching while also trying to take care of business against the Dolphins.
Bowles stated that the Buccaneers have been dealing with the reality that they could be eliminated over the past few weeks, and that isn't great, as the team has lost three in a row.
The skid has to stop in Week 17.
It doesn't matter how they do it, or by how much, the Buccaneers simply have to get win No. 8.
Their entire season depends on it.
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