The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are in an interesting position this season after the retirement of Superstar Quarterback Tom Brady. Tampa Bay is clearly an aging team and the team’s record reflects that. While they aren’t a bottom dweller like Carolina, they certainly aren’t a Super Bowl contender either. However, given they are in hands down the worst division in the NFL, they are actually currently the leading team in the NFC South. With that, they have the high expectations of a playoff team but in reality they are more of a struggling mid-tier team.
Buccaneers Head Coach Todd Bowles Furious After Loss
That being said, the team laid an absolute egg against division rival New Orleans Saints on Sunday in a 23-13 loss. While they only lost by ten points, the feeling in the game was that Tampa Bay never really had a shot to win. That feeling was felt by their head coach Todd Bowles during his post game press conference.
“It didn’t matter who we played today,” Bowles said. “A good team. A bad team. A college team. A high school team. We wouldn’t have won today.”
That is a scathing indictment one typically doesn’t hear of a head coach talking about a possible playoff team. Bowles was furious as his team only put up 57 yards to another team in their conference that is dealing with the struggles of an aging roster.
On top of the abysmal rushing attempt put on my Tampa Bay, the team also committed four turnovers including two interceptions by their quarterback and leader Baker Mayfield. The team simply never really contended with New Orleans even though they were able to put up 13 points in garbage time against their division foe.
After the loss, Tampa Bay is in a position that they absolutely didn’t want to be in as they face a must-win game against the Carolina Panthers in Week 18 of the regular season. They are currently tied with New Orleans at 8-8 but hold the tiebreaker over their rival. New Orleans will play the Falcons and will need to win the game against Atlanta and have Tampa Bay lose in order to earn the playoff spot.
Bowles has not endured a particularly warm welcome in his experience with Mayfield as the former first overall pick has struggled with turnovers throughout the season. It will be interesting dilemma this offseason for Bowles to decide whether to stick with his starting quarterback or move on to another middling option. Sadly for Bowles, a franchise quarterback will likely not be available if his team earns a playoff spot with or without a middling record.
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