Jameis Winston and the Buccaneers are suddenly tied for first place in the NFC South

At 3-5, following a blowout loss to the Atlanta Falcons, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers looked practically finished.

Now, they’re looking like a potential playoff team.

The Buccaneers got their fourth straight victory Sunday, a 28-21 road win over the San Diego Chargers on Sunday. The past three wins have been impressive: a victory at the Kansas City Chiefs, a home win against the Seattle Seahawks and Sunday’s win against a better-than-their-record Chargers team. After Sunday’s win and an Atlanta Falcons loss at home to the Chiefs, suddenly the Buccaneers are tied for first place in the NFC South. The Buccaneers and Falcons are tied at 7-5. They split the season series.

The Buccaneers were in a close game on Sunday, but Jameis Winston’s touchdown to Cameron Brate in the fourth quarter and his two-point conversion pass to Mike Evans gave the Bucs a 28-21 lead. Philip Rivers threw a late interception, the Buccaneers converted a key third-and-1 right before the two-minute warning, and they got out of San Diego with a huge road win.

The Buccaneers’ remaining schedule isn’t easy, with two games left against the New Orleans Saints, one at the Dallas Cowboys and a Week 17 game against the Carolina Panthers. But they’re in the race for the division title, which is more than anyone figured from them a few weeks ago.

Winston has been efficient during the winning streak, and he had 280 yards on Sunday. Tampa Bay’s defense has also come alive over the past month, keeping teams out of the end zone and coming up with big plays. Tampa Bay shut out San Diego in the fourth quarter on Sunday.

At one point this season the Falcons looked like the surprise team of the NFL and a runaway favorite in the NFC South. The Buccaneers have gotten hot and ruined those plans, and now they’re tied with the Falcons with four games to go.

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
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