NFL Power Rankings: Buccaneers Hold Steady Despite Loss, Controversy

The Tampa Bay Bucs didn't leave The Meadowlands of New Jersey with a win, but they created a ton of acrimony with their kneel-down "attacks." Despite their offensive explosion against the Giants, Greg Schiano's actions took over the national narrative. SB Nation's Power Rankings have the Bucs at their lowest spot in the major power rankings, coming in at No. 24:

24. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (LW: 19, 1-1): They don't deserve to fall this far but there's always a team that gets screwed. Tampa Bay played the Giants tough in one of the most exciting regular season games in recent memory.

ESPN.com kept Tampa at the same spot as Week 2 - 21st, behind most of their 1-1 teams:

Jason Garrett and Mike Shanahan are up next on the Greg Schiano friendship tour.

Over at FOX, former Ravens head coach Brian Billick has the Bucs at 19th, up one spot from last week despite the loss:

Tampa Bay showed us flashes on Sunday, but giving up 510 passing yards isn't going to win too many games. I suggest they play harder during the first 59:55 so they don’t need to be in 4-point stances when the other team tries to take a knee.

Similar positive sentiments of "even though they lost" can be found at NFL.com, where the Bucs stood pat at No. 18:

Despite the loss, you have to like the way Tampa is competing these days. This is a different team than the one that dropped 10 in a row to close out 2011. Then again, the Bucs blew coverages all around the park on Sunday. Everyone in Tampa's secondary got toasted, and the club paid for it with a loss.

Read more on the Bucs at Bucs Nation and SB Nation Tampa Bay. For more on theCowboys, check out Blogging the Boys and SB Nation Dallas. For more news and information on the NFL, check out SB Nation's NFL Hub Page.