BY The Associated Press
They need help and they know it. Still, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers should feel fortunate they still are breathing in the NFC playoff race.
The Bucs could have been in a power position had they beaten Washington last Saturday. But they turned over the ball three times in the last six minutes, and the Redskins rallied for a 20-16 victory.
Now, they not only must win a road game in December, which they have done only six times and almost never in cold weather, but they must have the Arizona Cardinals lose at home to San Diego. And they need the New York Giants to win at Philadelphia.
That would create a three-way tie at 8-8 for the sixth NFC playoff spot. Tampa Bay would get it through a tiebreaker.
To win, the Bucs must prove they can handle the cold. Of their six December road wins, only two were in colder areas: at Denver in 1993 and at Washington in 1994. But they're 0-16 when it's under 40 degrees at kickoff.
Sunday's high is a predicted 42 degrees.
Of course, the Bengals (3-12) are one of the league's worst teams and broke a nine-game slide at Pittsburgh last Sunday. They are down to third-string quarterback Paul Justin and have little incentive. "We have the opportunity to play the spoiler's role," Justin said. "We did that to Pittsburgh. Now Tampa Bay needs this one."
