Todd Bowles’ attempt to light a fire under the Bucs came too little too late, and it’s going to cost them the 2025 season
The Bucs waited way too long to take things seriously, and now they’re out of the playoff race with only two games left in the season.
Todd Bowles’ profanity-laced postgame tirade made headlines after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers suffered their worst loss of the year in Week 15 – as it should’ve.
Bowles also delivered a similar message during the week, but Sunday’s loss to the Carolina Panthers in Week 16 proved it to be too little too late, as the Bucs dropped their third game in a row and have now lost six out of seven since Week 10.
The Bucs are playing their worst football at the time when they need their best, and they have forgotten how to win games. The key is that Bowles and the rest of the Bucs’ leadership should’ve tried to light a fire under the rest of the team a long time ago, and their complacency is a big reason why Tampa Bay is out of the playoff picture.
Bucs should’ve gotten serious after the Patriots loss
Tampa Bay had to endure the toughest stretch of its schedule after the bye week, and it knew the games against the Patriots, Buffalo Bills, and Los Angeles Rams would be major tests that showed the Bucs where they stood among the NFL’s best.
Therefore, Bowles should’ve been lighting this fire under the Bucs’ asses after the Patriots loss, especially considering how many mistakes were made in that game. The Bucs have been awful since the bye week, which only compounds the situation.
Instead, Bowles waited until after both the New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons’ losses to start pressing guys. At that point, the damage was already done, and the stench of losing was permanent.
Bowles has to intensify his approach, but don’t expect that to happen
Sure, it benefits coaches to keep cool and stay even-keeled to make the best decisions at crucial moments, and Bowles is as even-keeled as they come. Last week’s postgame presser was certainly something the Tampa Bay media hasn’t seen with him as head coach, and everyone knows it takes a lot for him to get to that point. So, things are certainly hitting a head.
He has to add some intensity to his methods, however. That’s not guaranteed, either. He’s a veteran head coach who has developed his personality with intent over time, and people just don’t grow out of that.
Until he changes, it’s totally logical to expect these slumps to continue, and honestly, it doesn’t look like the Bucs are breaking out of this one.
The mental mistakes are as frustrating as ever
This is supposed to be a cohesive, veteran team that is mentally checked in on a weekly basis, and Sunday’s loss featured some of the more frustrating moments of the season.
For starters, it looked like the offensive line was on a different planet in terms of simply being aware of what was going on. Luke Goedeke had one of his worst games in recent memory and was hit with a handful of penalties, and Graham Barton put the Bucs in a bad spot on multiple occasions.
Then, of course, there’s Baker Mayfield’s game-sealing interception to Mike Evans. Mayfield confirmed it was the result of a miscommunication after the game.
Once again, the Bucs didn’t do the little things right, and it cost them a game. They’ve simply forgotten how to win.
Where do the Bucs go from here?
Somehow, someway, they still have a chance to win the division if they beat the Dolphins next week and the Panthers in the finale. That’s absurd to think about at this point, and frankly, the Bucs don’t belong in this position.
They should beat a Quinn Ewers-led Dolphins team, but there are obviously no guarantees anymore. If that happens, it’s a season finale showdown in Raymond James Stadium against the Panthers for the NFC South crown.
We’ll see if the Bucs can finally find the spark they’ve been searching for because it’s lights out if they don’t.
