Bucs enter NFL season's final stretch with playoff hopes alive — but barely

• Head coach Todd Bowles is on the hot seat and the Bucs have two straight games against division rivals.

State of play: They're at home Sunday against the league-worst 1-10 Panthers, who fired head coach Frank Reich yesterday. Then they're in Atlanta.

• The Falcons are tied with the New Orleans Saints for the division lead at 5-6.
• At 4-7, the Bucs are unlikely to make the playoffs as a wildcard team. A division title is their best route to the postseason.

Catch up quick: The Bucs' latest loss came against the Colts, 27-20, after the team's final drive ended with a fumble by quarterback Baker Mayfield.

The intrigue: Wide receiver Mike Evans, who caught two touchdowns in Indianapolis, is nine TDs away from notching 100 for his career and needs 150 yards for his 10th straight 1,000-yard receiving season, an NFL record, the Tampa Bay Times reports.

• This could be Evans' last season in Tampa Bay. The 30-year-old, who has spent his entire pro career with the Bucs, is not under contract for next year.

What they're saying: "We've got to stop making silly mistakes," Bowles said after Sunday's game. "We can't work any harder. We work harder than anybody in the league, if not more."

The bottom line: The Bucs' weak division has kept their playoff hopes alive. But losses in their upcoming NFC South games could have fans looking ahead to the NFL Draft, rather than the postseason.