The distance between two adjacent numbers can sometimes feel so exhaustively vast. Take “zero” and “one” for example. The difference between zero wins and one win at the end of Jameis Winston’s three-game suspension is extraordinary, and that number will go a long way towards determining the playoff hopes of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. With one win there is hope, with zero there is none.
Winston’s mercifully short suspension is stretched out over the course of Tampa’s toughest gauntlet of the season: New Orleans, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Three playoff teams from last season which each sported nigh unstoppable offenses and are poised to continue that trend this year.