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The Saints’ victory over the Vikings eliminated the Buccaneers from the playoffs, but if they beat the Lions today, the Bucs win a wild card. In that case, they may decide to take it easy on Week 17.
Bucs coach Bruce Arians acknowledged that he may want to give some of his best players a rest if the Bucs find themselves in that situation next week against Falcons.
“We will see what could possibly change,” said Arians, through Jon Ledyard of PewterReport.com. “If we were locked up in one place, I wouldn’t be against some guys resting. But we are still going out to win the game. “
The Buccaneers would still be playing for the playoff in week 17, even if they get a playoff spot today, but regardless, they know they have to win on the road in the playoffs to advance. Aryans can decide that they want to give rest to important players like Tom Brady, Mike Evans and Rob Gronkowski.
Although Brady played many nonsensical games in Week 17, when the Patriots already had their seed in the playoffs conquered, he never missed out on a game in Week 17. He, however, sometimes left games early. No one should be surprised if Brady plays a series or two to stay up to date at the end of the season, and then give way to Blaine Gabbert.