TAMPA, Fla. – Todd Bowles is adamant about what it will take to turn Tampa Bay’s season around.
Yes, he and his staff can make some adjustments. It would help, too, to get a couple of injured starters back on the field, cut down on turnovers and eliminate other mistakes that are undermining the Buccaneers.
More than anything, though, Bowles says the Bucs need to stay together and stop beating themselves.
The three-time defending NFC South champions have lost three in a row — four of five overall following a 3-1 start — to fall to 4-5 at the season’s midpoint.
The offense, which ranks among the league leaders in yards and scoring, has been more productive than anticipated.
The defense, which has allowed 30 points or more four of the past five weeks, has been less reliable than other Bowles-led units that have helped Tampa Bay to four consecutive playoff appearances.
For the most part, the Bucs have played better on the road, where they not only handed the NFC-best Detroit Lions (7-1) their only defeat, but also took Patrick Mahomes and the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs (8-0) to overtime before losing 30-24 on Monday night.
“We did a lot of good things, but not enough to win the ballgame,” Bowles said after watching the Chiefs drive for a game-winning touchdown on the opening possession of OT. “We have to do the little things to win the ballgames.”
The Bucs also lost in OT on the road at Atlanta. They’re 2-3 at home, meanwhile, where Bowles’ message remains consistent: The key to altering the course of the season is not making wholesale lineup changes, but rather doing little things that make the difference between winning and losing.
“Right now, it’s about us. It doesn’t matter who we play,” quarterback Baker Mayfield said. “We need to focus on doing our job and finding ways to win. That’s all that matters.”
Despite losing to the Chiefs after kicking an extra point instead of going for a potential game-winning 2-point conversion in the closing seconds of regulation, Bowles felt the Bucs showed signs of righting the ship.
“We had less mistakes in this game. This one, they beat us. We didn’t really beat ourselves,” the coach said Tuesday.
“It came down to the end, but we’re not going to lose too many of those if we keep playing like this,” Bowles added. “As long as we’re playing this hard and commit less mistakes, we feel good about our chances week in and week out regardless of who we play.”
What’s working
Mayfield leads the NFL with 23 touchdown passes, and the Bucs rank fifth in the league in total offense at 377.8 yards per game under first-year coordinator Liam Coen. Tampa Bay is fifth in scoring (28.8), up from 20th (20.5) a year ago, when the team pulled out of a midseason tailspin to win five of six down the stretch and win the division with a 9-8 record.
Mayfield is second in the league in passing yards (2,389), but has also thrown nine interceptions — seven over the past four games.
What needs help
The defense has been one of the stingiest in the league since Bowles joined the Bucs as defensive coordinator in 2019. After allowing just over 19 points per game and ranking seventh in scoring defense last season, Tampa Bay is 28th in points allowed (27 per game) and 30th in yards allowed (386.7) through nine games this season.
“We can make 62 good plays and five bad plays, and it goes haywire,” Bowles said. “We’ve got to cut out the bad plays. We understand that.”
Stock up
The rushing attack has improved dramatically after ranking last in the NFL each of the past two seasons. With starter Rachaad White, rookie Bucky Irving and second-year pro Sean Tucker sharing the workload, Tampa Bay is running for 127 yards per game.
Stock down
Bowles is looking for more consistency out of his pass rush. LB Yaya Diaby led the team with 7 1/2 sacks as a rookie last season. Although the team remains high on his potential to become a dominant edge rusher, Diaby has just two sacks heading into Week 10. That’s tied for fifth on the team, which is eighth in the league with 25 sacks.
Injuries
The Bucs have played the past two weeks without top receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. They’re still hopeful that Evans (hamstring), the team’s career receiving and scoring leader, will return following the Week 11 bye. Godwin (ankle) is expected to miss the remainder of the year, although Bowles has said there’s a chance he could return if the team is able to make a deep playoff run.
Key numbers
25, 51 — Mayfield leads the NFL with 25 total touchdowns (23 passing, two rushing). Since signing with Tampa Bay as a free agent, he’s tossed 51 TD passes in 26 regular season games.
Next up
The Bucs host San Francisco on Sunday, ending a stretch in which they’ve faced three of the four teams that appeared in last season’s conference championship games.
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