EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ (SNN-TV) – The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have the 2021 NFC South title in hand and, with two games left in the regular season, are aiming for the second-overall seed in the NFC.
The 11-4 Buccaneers – who do have some player health concerns to balance over the next two weeks – have plenty of motivation remaining for those last two games, beginning this Sunday on the road against the New York Jets.
A victory in Week 17 would allow Tampa Bay to match its single-season record with 12 wins and, depending upon results for the Rams and Cowboys, could jump them immediately to that coveted second seed.
Head Coach Bruce Arians isolated himself on Tuesday after testing positive for COVID-19 and may not be available to trod the sideline on Sunday at MetLife Stadium. At the moment, and potentially through the weekend, head coaching duties have fallen to Assistant Head Coach/Run Game Coordinator Harold Goodwin.
Goodwin says Arians is still hoping to be on the sidelines on Sunday. “Yesterday he sounded really good, so there’s probably a chance that he makes it back. [We] always want our leader around. He’s the head guy so if we can get him back, [we’ll] get him back and keep our mojo going.”
Whether Arians is back or not, receiver Mike Evans was activated off the COVID-Reserve list and is a game-time decision for Sunday, with kickoff set for 1pm from East Rutherford, New Jersey.