Only Hope Is To Win Out Ira Kaufman, The Tampa Tribune, published 29 November 2004 The striking mediocrity of the NFC is keeping the Bucs alive for a postseason berth, despite Sunday's 21-14 loss at Carolina that dropped Tampa Bay to 4-7. Only five of 16 NFC teams have winning records with five weeks remaining in the regular season, compared with eight teams better than .500 in the AFC. If the Bucs win their final five regular-season games and finish 9-7, they likely would be in the mix for a playoff spot, despite a 1-5 start. Making the playoffs at 8-8 remains unlikely, but it is not unprecedented. The 1998 Lions, '91 Jets and '90 Saints qualified for postseason play at 8-8 since the NFL expanded the playoff pool to six teams from each conference in 1990. The Bucs are one of seven NFC clubs - including three in the South - sitting at 4-7. Sunday's loss in Charlotte cost the Bucs a chance to tie the fading Giants at 5-6 and elevate themselves into a prominent role down the stretch. It now appears likely that at least one of the conference's wild-card playoff teams will come out of the North Division, where the Vikings are 7-4 and the Packers are 6-4 heading into tonight's home matchup against 5-5 St. Louis. Tampa Bay will root for Green Bay, hoping to remain one game behind the Rams and Giants in the chase for the sixth and final playoff position in the NFC. Atlanta, 9-2, can clinch the NFC South on Sunday with a win at Raymond James Stadium and the 10-1 Eagles have already wrapped up the NFC East. St. Louis can tie Seattle atop the NFC West by upsetting the Packers tonight, and both the Rams and Seahawks own the head-to-head tiebreaker against Tampa Bay, which is also hampered by a 3-5 record within the conference. The NFC is so weak, even the Panthers, who have won three in a row after a 1-7 getaway, are talking playoffs. ``It took us a little while for us to come around,'' said defensive end Julius Peppers, one of Carolina's defensive stars Sunday. ``Who knows what can happen? Maybe we can sneak in.'' Tampa Bay's next two opponents - Atlanta at home and San Diego on the road - have a combined 17-5 record. The Bucs, who have lost 13 of their past 20 games, haven't missed the playoffs in consecutive seasons since 1995-96, the first two years under Malcolm Glazer's ownership.