NFC South standings: How Buccaneers vs. Falcons will impact NFL Week 15 playoff picture originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here. The NFC South is still up for grabs entering the final quarter of the NFL season, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are in a dogfight.

Week 15 begins with a game the Buccaneers need to win if they want to stay in first place in the NFC South, and continues with several other games that have playoff implications.

The Buccaneers face the Falcons in Tampa on Thursday. We break down what the game means for the NFL playoff picture.

The Panthers have an undeniably easier time knocking the four-times defending NFC South champions off of their throne if the Falcons triumph tonight. Remember, rooting for them to win doesn’t mean we’re rooting for them to look good. A win is a win, even if it comes at the “expense” of Tampa just looking plain awful on a short week.

The Detroit Lions need to win their final 4 games and get help to earn the NFL's No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs for the second straight year.

Everyone watching saw that Jalen Hurts, Kevin Patullo and the Eagles are a far cry from the NFC’s best team. The numbers bear that out, too. The Eagles have a less than 1% chance to secure the No. 1 seed in the NFC postseason, according to The Athletic’s updated projection model.

The L.A. Rams took over the top spot, and they're the only team in the NFC that can actually clinch a playoff berth with a win this week. But even there, Seattle is tied with the Rams for first in the NFC West, so nobody's exactly comfortable.

The Eagles have lost three in a row after Hurts coughs up a game-losing INT in overtime. The NFC playoff races tighten.