Welcome back to relevance.
It’s been a while since Tampa Bay was in the national discussion, but with back-to-back wins over top tier teams, the Bucs are the talk of the league. Still, the team wants to quell playoff conversation while remaining cautiously optimistic.
“We’re still coming together," Jameis Winston said. "It’s not a thing, where you’re like, oh, we have arrived. It’s a week-to-week thing."
“Anytime you win, everybody feels great about it," Dirk Koetter said, "but there’s always stories going on behind the scenes, you know San Diego’s looking at all our deficiencies right now.”
But the Bucs are playoffs contenders. In the NFC Wild Card hunt, they are near the top, just behind Washington for that final Wild Card spot and just a half game behind Atlanta in the NFC South Division race.
It’s that time of the year to believe.
“We’re just playing with confidence in general," Winston said. "It’s just the belief.”
Belief in a defensive system that is imposing its will on opponents. Belief in an offensive system full of promise and capable of explosive plays. Belief that the Bucs can make the playoffs for the first time since 2007.
You just won’t hear it from the players.
“It is week-to-week and we’re going to keep it that way," Winston said, "because our next game is always our biggest game.”