TAMPA, Fla. — Todd Bowles is clear on what needs to happen for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to revive their season.
Although adjustments can be made by the coaching staff, it’s crucial to return a couple of key injured players to the lineup, minimize turnovers, and eliminate crucial mistakes that have hindered the team. However, more than anything, Bowles emphasizes that maintaining unity and avoiding self-inflicted setbacks are vital.
The Buccaneers, who have won the NFC South title three times in a row, are currently struggling, having lost three sequential games—four out of their last five—after starting with a promising 3-1 record, landing them at 4-5 halfway through the season.
Despite these challenges, their offense has exceeded expectations, ranking among the league leaders in yards and scoring. Conversely, the defense has fallen short, allowing at least 30 points in four of the last five games, a stark contrast to previous seasons under Bowles when the team secured four consecutive playoff berths.
Interestingly, the Buccaneers have generally performed better away from home. They not only handed the NFC-leading Detroit Lions (7-1) their first defeat but also pushed the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs (8-0) to overtime only to fall 30-24 on Monday night.
“We did a lot of good things, but not enough to win the ballgame,” Bowles noted after watching the Chiefs score a decisive touchdown in overtime. “We have to focus on the small details to secure victories.”
The Bucs also faced an overtime loss on the road against the Atlanta Falcons. Meanwhile, their home performance has been subpar at 2-3. Bowles consistently insists that turning the season around doesn’t require drastic changes to the lineup; instead, it’s about executing the little things that can tip the balance between winning and losing.
“Right now, it’s about us. It doesn’t matter who we’re up against,” quarterback Baker Mayfield remarked. “Our priority is to concentrate on our own performance and discover ways to win. That’s what truly counts.”
Even after a tough loss to the Chiefs, where they opted for an extra point instead of a game-winning two-point conversion in the final seconds of regulation, Bowles expressed that the team showed signs of improvement.
“We made fewer mistakes this time around. They earned the win. We didn’t defeat ourselves,” Bowles said on Tuesday. “It came down to the end, but if we keep playing this way, we won’t lose too many more.”
Bowles remained optimistic, citing that as long as the team maintains their effort and reduces errors, they feel confident about their chances in each upcoming game, about any opponent.
What’s going well for the Buccaneers is that Mayfield leads the NFL with 23 touchdown passes, and the team ranks fifth in total offense, averaging 377.8 yards per game under new offensive coordinator Liam Coen. They’ve improved significantly in scoring, currently sitting fifth in the league at 28.8 points per game, a rise from their previous year’s 20.5 points, which had them ranked 20th overall.
Mayfield is second in the league for passing yards, accumulating 2,389, but there’s concern as he has thrown nine interceptions, with seven occurring in the last four games.
On the defensive side, the Tampa Bay unit, historically known for being tough since Bowles took over as defensive coordinator in 2019, has deteriorated this season. After being ranked seventh in scoring defense the previous year at just over 19 points allowed per game, they now sit 28th, with opponents averaging 27 points.
“We can excel with 62 great plays but fail with five bad ones, and everything unravels,” Bowles explained. “We need to eliminate those misplays. We fully understand this.”
On the upside, the Buccaneers’ running game has notably improved, despite ranking last in the league for the last two seasons. With players like Rachaad White, rookie Bucky Irving, and second-year pro Sean Tucker working together, Tampa Bay is rushing for an average of 127 yards per game.
However, the pass rush remains a concern, as Bowles is seeking more reliability from this aspect of the defense. Last season, linebacker Yaya Diaby led the team with 7.5 sacks, but he’s only managed two sacks heading into Week 10, placing him fifth on the team in a unit that ranks eighth in the league with a total of 25 sacks.
In terms of injuries, the Buccaneers faced the past two games without star receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. There’s hope that Evans, the franchise’s all-time leader in receptions and scoring who is currently recovering from a hamstring injury, will be back after the team’s bye in Week 11. Godwin, dealing with an ankle injury, might miss the remainder of the season, although Bowles mentioned a possibility of his return should the Buccaneers make a deep playoff run.
Key statistics show Mayfield leads the league with 25 total touchdowns—23 passing and two rushing. Since joining Tampa Bay as a free agent, he has recorded a remarkable 51 TD passes in 26 regular-season games.
The Buccaneers’ next challenge lies ahead as they are set to host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, concluding a demanding stretch of games against three of the four teams that competed in the previous season’s conference championship contests.