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The Tampa Tribune, published 24 December 2002
The Bucs may have just waved bye to the bye week. By dropping a 17-7 decision to the Steelers on Monday night, the 11-4 Bucs slipped below Green Bay and into the NFC's No. 3 playoff slot. The Bucs no longer can catch the 12-3 Eagles, who hold the tiebreaker advantage on Tampa Bay. Philadelphia would clinch homefield advantage throughout the NFC playoffs by beating the Giants on the road Saturday.
Green Bay (12-3) is now the No. 2 NFC seed heading into Sunday's game against the Jets at Giants Stadium, four hours before the Bucs take on the Bears in frosty Champaign, Ill. Only the top two seeds in each conference receive a bye in the opening playoff round.
If Tampa Bay loses to Chicago and San Francisco wins at St. Louis on Monday night, the Bucs would drop below the 10-5 49ers into the No. 4 slot by virtue of a worse conference record. The Bucs still can receive a first-round bye by beating Chicago, coupled with a Green Bay loss. If Tampa Bay and Green Bay each finish 12-4, the Bucs will be seeded No. 2 because they defeated the Packers 21-7 a month ago at Raymond James Stadium.
Remaining as the No. 3 seed would place the Bucs at home for the Jan. 4-5 opening round against the No. 6 seed, either the Falcons, Saints or Giants. While the NFC playoff picture is fairly complete, 10 AFC teams are vying for four remaining berths. Oakland and Tennessee are champions of the AFC West and South, respectively, and loom as the front-runners for the top two seeds. Pittsburgh clinched the AFC North with Monday night's triumph. In the AFC East, the Dolphins, Jets and Patriots are still alive for the division title.
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