EDSFootball.com
Follow us:
Home Blog
Buccaneers

2021 NFL Power Rankings: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Throughout the 2021 NFL season, we will compile a consensus NFL Power Rankings that averages the rankings of all 32 NFL teams.

Here is where the Tampa Bay Buccaneers rank in terms of average, best and worst:

Below you will find a Week 10 roundup for the Bucs in our consensus 2021 NFL Power Rankings.

ESPN -- Rank: 5

Bold second-half prediction: The Bucs won't lose again in the regular season and will finish no lower than second in the NFC.

The Bucs' opponents for their remaining 10 games are a combined 30-42. Only two of those teams are above .500 -- the New Orleans Saints and the Buffalo Bills -- and they face both at home. The 7-2 Los Angeles Rams and 8-1 Arizona Cardinals still have to play each other again, and the Rams still have to play the Green Bay Packers (7-2), the Baltimore Ravens (6-2) and the Seattle Seahawks (3-5), who are getting Russell Wilson back. The Cardinals have a much easier path than L.A., but still have to play the Seahawks twice and the Dallas Cowboys (6-2). The path to get to a first-round bye and home field is there for the Buccaneers' taking, if they can get healthy and cut down on penalties. -- Jenna Laine

NFL.com -- Rank: 2

It's time to ask questions about Rob Gronkowski and the long-term impact he can make with the Bucs for the balance of 2021. Following a sizzling start to the season, Gronk missed four games with rib and lung injuries, then exited the Week 8 loss to the Saints after just six snaps with back spasms. It's the same back that required three separate surgeries from 2009 to 2016. The Bucs have the luxury of former first-round pick O.J. Howard's presence to absorb Gronkowski's snaps, but we saw how unstoppable this offense was when Gronk was healthy in September. It's fair to wonder if we'll see that guy again.

CBS Sports -- Rank: 4

They went into their bye off a loss, which can only make one imagine the fire that is lit inside of Tom Brady this week. The good news is they get Washington to help fix their issues.

USA Today -- Rank: 2

What did they do after last season's bye? Simply went 8-0, including their Super Bowl 55 rout of Kansas City. So yeah ... look out, everyone.

The Athletic -- Rank: 2

Are they good? Sure. They lost to the Saints (and Trevor Siemian) before their bye, but they're third-best in the NFL in point differential. Tom Brady leads the NFL with 25 passing touchdowns, and in passing yards per game. The bye was kind to them, with the Rams, Packers, Cowboys and Saints all losing, which helps the Bucs as playoff seeding plays out. Will their defense improve as their secondary gets healthy? This week they return to the site of their playoff opener last year, but will face a much tamer Washington defense, ranking in the bottom four in the league in total defense, scoring defense, pass defense and third-down defense.

Previous updates:

More Tampa Bay Buccaneers pages:

More of our content:

Keep track of our site's updates: (1) follow us on Twitter, (2) like us on Facebook and/or (3) subscribe to our newsletter.