A 2-10 NFL Team Can Still Make The Playoffs - Here Is What Would Need To Happen
In other words, there is still a chance that a 6-10 team could make the playoffs which would be the worst playoff team in NFL history.
Here is the absurd scenario that would need to happen:
- The Bucs need to win all four games, which includes games on the road against the 8-4 Detroit Lions and the 3-8-1 Carolina Panthers, as well as games at home against the 9-3 Green Bay Packers, and 5-7 New Orleans Saints.
That is a tall task even if the Bucs had played better in recent weeks. But it would still not be enough because the Bucs would lose every tiebreaker with other teams in the division.
They would still need help and this is where it gets fun:
- The Bucs also need the Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints to tie when they face each other in week 16 and both of those teams would have to lose their other remaining games. If that happens, both teams will finish 5-10-1.
- The Bucs would also need the Carolina Panthers to beat the Saints, lose to the Bucs, lose to the Browns, and then beat the Falcons in their final game. If that happens, the Panthers would also finish 5-10-1.
That's it. All 11 games involving teams in the NFC South have to go a certain way. Anything else and the Bucs will officially be eliminated.
Of course, the chances are extremely small. According to SportsClubsStats.com, the Bucs have just a 0.00000175% chance to make the playoffs, noting that the Bucs made the playoffs 66 times in 3.8 billion simulations of the remaining four weeks.
Piece o' cake.