Brady, slow-starting Buccaneers on verge of playoff berth

For one half the Tampa Bay Buccaneers look like playoff pretenders, the next they resemble Super Bowl contenders. Bruce Arians is as baffled as anyone by his team’s puzzling slow starts, inconsistency the coach says has and will continue to haunt them against stronger competition. The Bucs (9-5) assured themselves of their first winning season since 2010, rallying from a 17-point second-half deficit to beat the Atlanta Falcons and move closer to Tampa Bay’s first playoff berth in 13 years.