Buccaneers' Todd Bowles working virtually after being deemed a close contact in COVID-19 tracing

The Bucs are battling it out for the No. 5 seed in the NFC

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been practicing without their defensive coordinator on hand this week. According to the Tampa Bay Times, Todd Bowles was deemed a close contact of a person outside the Buccaneers' building who is believed to have registered a false positive test for the coronavirus, so Bowles has been working virtually throughout the week. 

Bowles has reported no symptoms and has continued to test negative himself, so there is a possibility that he could be cleared in time to coach in Sunday's game against the division rival Atlanta Falcons. Because he has been working virtually, no other players or coaches are considered close contacts at this time.

With a 10-5 record, the Bucs currently hold the No. 5 seed in the NFC. That's an important position among the wild card teams because it affords the opportunity to play against the winner of the decrepit NFC East in the first round of the playoffs, meaning a date against the Cowboys, Giants. or Washington, as opposed to the Saints or Seahawks. 

Bowles' defense allowed 27 points to the Falcons in Week 15, with Matt Ryan completing 34 of 49 passes for 356 yards, three touchdowns, and zero interceptions despite Julio Jones being sidelined for the game. Surely, Tampa will want to put forth a better performance this time around, especially since they need a victory to ensure they don't end up in a tiebreaker scenario with the Los Angeles Rams, who would win out for the spot due to having beaten the Bucs back in Week 11. 

As long as Tampa can pull out a victory over Atlanta, though, it won't have to worry about that. And obviously, having Bowles on the sideline would help a great deal.