Week 16: Cannons will fire!!

OK ..the Buccaneers have shown they can have their way with last-place teams.

Consecutive wins over the Giants, Carolina, and Las Vegas have become their own triple play.  Honestly,  those wins are hardly reasons to pound your chest.

Then the Bucs hand the Jim Harbaugh-coached Chargers a 40-17 spanking.  Now, they are officially on the NFL’s naughty list.  They are downright bad, as in badass.   And the rest of the league has taken notice.

In fact,  the Buccaneers are favored by four AT Dallas.  Yes, the Cowboys have dropped six of nine.  And yes, the Cowboys are down to backup quarterback Cooper Rush.

The rest of the league has seen the Buccaneers follow up their four-game losing streak with a four-game winning streak.  Of those wins, only the Chargers have a winning record.  Yet it was the way the Buccaneers toyed with one of the NFL’s best defenses that has opened eyes.

No doubt, the Buccaneer offense can score on anybody.  Baker Mayfield has thrown for a career-high 32 touchdowns with three games left.  Only Joe Burrow, Jared Goff, and Lamar Jackson have more.  Now, courtesy of offensive coordinator Liam Coen, the Buccaneers have added a top-five run game that makes Baker even more dangerous.

These Buccaneers are flat-out fun to watch — on offense.

Not to be a downer, but one thing we all need to remember about these Buccaneers is that their defense has a habit of bringing out the best in opposing quarterbacks.

Ask Carolina’s Bryce Young.  The former #1 overall pick had been benched earlier in the season, but against the Bucs, he passed for 298 yards and a pair of touchdowns.  Don’t forget, the Buccaneers needed overtime to stop those last-place Panthers.

Now it’s a backup in Rush.  Rest assured, Jerry Jones has reminded his beleaguered coach, Mike McCarthy, that this Buccaneer defense can be had.

The Buccaneers will close with seven of their last eight games against teams with losing records.  If they win seven, nobody will care as they take an 11-and-6 record into the playoffs.

Now, that would be a reason to pound your chest.

Written By AL KECK