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NFL playoff picture 2012: Buccaneers have a tough road

After losing to the Eagles in Week 14, Tampa Bay's playoff chances now look grim.

By JP Starkey
Al Messerschmidt

Tampa Bay's Week 14 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles could be one that haunts the Buccaneers all offseason long.

With the Bucs dropping to 6-7 after losing to the Nick Foles-led Eagles, the Buccaneers now trail the Chicago Bears (8-5), Seattle Seahawks (8-5), Washington Redskins (7-6), Dallas Cowboys (7-6), Minnesota Vikings (7-6) and St. Louis Rams (6-6-1) for the two wild card spots.

Tampa Bay's remaining schedule isn't terribly kind, either. The Buccaneers head to New Orleans to take on Drew Brees and the Saints in Week 15, before playing host to the St. Louis Rams in Week 16. Tampa Bay will conclude the regular season, and likely its season in general, in Week 17, when the Bucs head to Atlanta to take on the Falcons.

For the Buccaneers to make the playoffs, they'll need lots of help from other teams -- and essentially need to root for collapses from six teams in the NFC.

Photographs by cstreet.us, thelastminute, turtlemom nancy , fesek, kthypryn, justinwright, sue_elias, pointnshoot, and scrapstothefuture used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.