Collapsed Bucs Defense Explained
September 23rd, 2025
So what broke down when the bumbling, stumbling Jets offense managed two long fourth-quarter touchdown drives on the Bucs defense Sunday?
Todd Bowles noted after the thrilling win that he believed his Bucs defense “took our foot off the gas.”
On SiriusXM NFL Radio yesterday, Bowles said he thought fatigue was an issue, too.
“I don’t think [the Jets offense] made adjustments,” Bowles said. “I thought we eased up and the five-yard passes were turning into 10 yard passes and we were missing the tackles at the point. And I thought some of the guys got worn down a little bit on the drive trying to put fresh bodies in there and you know, they were just dinking and dunking us down the field.”
Joe gets guys getting tired in the fourth quarter on a hot day, but the Bucs owned the time of possession margin and fatigue should not have been an issue.
Yeah, that’s easy for Joe to type in an air conditioned office, but it was Week 3 — at home.
If the Bucs defensive woes were because of getting worn out, then Joe would feel pretty good — because that’s very fixable.
September 23rd, 2025 at 3:24 pm
Maybe the conditioning sucks because the starters didn’t do anything all summer during the annual installment Camp Cupcake?
September 23rd, 2025 at 3:25 pm
It was our first time in the stadium heat as well, which adds like 20 degrees apparently. I think the home field advantage was not quite there on Sunday, hopefully the team is more acclimated to the insane stadium oven temps next week.
September 23rd, 2025 at 3:28 pm
Power Rankings in the top 5 and nothing but complaining about Bowles from fans.. Bucs defense scored. Bucs defense got a sack fumble and recovery.
If a FG isnt blocked, Bucs go up 9 and its not even close at the end.. I just cant w all this Bowles hate.. from couch warriors who can even run a lap around their own house
September 23rd, 2025 at 3:29 pm
It’s hard to be mad at wins, even when they’ve been much closer than they should’ve been. We’re basically a man down in pass coverage with SirVocea on the field. I’m not completely out on him but I’d like to see at least some rotation there.
I’ve kind of been impartial to the ‘collapses’ though. Chase left a lot of points on the board the first 2 weeks, definitely noticed it on Sunday. But in my opinion all 3 of these games were losses last year, so 3-0 feels pretty good.
If the defense can keep our hobbled offense in the games and we can scrape wins, I don’t have much bad to say about the defense.
September 23rd, 2025 at 3:29 pm
The first drive to me was not an issue. I felt like they were trying to get them to use up time and keep everything in front of them. It was a little too loose, but it did take it all the way to the middle of the fourth quarter And the Bucs were still up 26-13 after they scored.
The problem was the another penalty helped the Jets on the next drive and they stopped them, but the officials made the wrong call on LAZARD catch in the end zone. There is no way he had control that ball as it hit the ground. You can see it was pinned against his leg and the one hand rolled over to where he was pressing it with the back of his hand. In no universe do you have control of a ball with the back of your hand.
It’s annoying, but it happens in every NFL game. A team has a lead and they play a little looser because they do not want to give up something over the top.
Hopefully they live and learn from this because overall the defense played very well. As the season goes on and they get their lineman back
they should be able to pound the rock to finish those games out.
September 23rd, 2025 at 3:30 pm
The five-yard passes were turning into 10 yard passes not only this game but most of the games. Its not just missed tackles but also because on most of the passes against this Defense the DBs or LBs are 5 yds away from the receiver catching the ball. Our coverage only contests about 4 or 5 passes pre game.
And I dont expect this will change much since the Coach things that the only issue is missed tackles.
Go Bucs
September 23rd, 2025 at 3:31 pm
Dubcity6
couldn’t agree more. The guy made one or two questionable decisions, three years ago and every fan sitting in his mom’s basement on the couch thinks they can do better.
I’ll take it from the players and other coaches who all say he is fantastic and want to play for him.
September 23rd, 2025 at 3:32 pm
Got to figure out how to be better in the 4th.
I do not think we’ve been playing soft zones in the 4th like many fans complain about. Watch the all-22. Not happening.
A partial explanation/theory — Definitely not an excuse by me.
The key concept is heat acclimatization vs. chronic heat stress.
The Bucs have an advantage on heat acclimatization.
The Bucs have a disadvantage because of chronic, unrelenting heat exposure.
It’s a continuous, day-in-and-day-out exposure to high temperatures and humidity. The body needs more energy to recover from this and if your body gets used to having recovery.
My guess is that the Bucs during their weekly practices are not trying to simulate the 3-hour games but instead giving the Bucs players the time off they need during the week to recover and therefore limiting the chronic heat stress.
So, the Bucs have to deal with it in multiple ways why the opposing team just has the one acute traumatic event.
I’d love to see more on the sports science of this all and how the Bucs deal with it regarding the data they get on individual players. Because I am sure there are lots of variations.
No excuses should the Bucs be using. But I’d love to see someone from The Athletic or some other publication talk it about it in further detail.
September 23rd, 2025 at 3:34 pm
StormiInFl
That is an issue for all the NFL because they don’t let them practice throughout most the off-season and the training camp has become a joke. On top of that, it almost hit 130° on the field Sunday.
They will be getting better and better as they get healthier, and they are 3-0!
September 23rd, 2025 at 3:41 pm
If you’ve never been in pads & strapped a helmet on, especially in Florida, you don’t really have a dog in the hunt with this story…
September 23rd, 2025 at 3:41 pm
They were worn out from the heat….but the Jets apparently weren’t!
Bowles logic.
September 23rd, 2025 at 3:50 pm
Worn out from carrying the offense for 2 qtrs
September 23rd, 2025 at 3:53 pm
new year…same old story with Bowles. Coaching scared and not to lose instead of having killing instinct. We should have put them away early in the 4th qtr
September 23rd, 2025 at 3:57 pm
Dubciity6/Steve.
There is a fine line between people on this thread/or any sports thread “complaining” and others making valid comments. Bowles by his OWN emission matter of factly said, “we took our foot off the gas”. That is a huge problem and that trait doesn’t exist on championship teams.
I think Bowles has done an amazing job and there is something to be said about team cohesion and creating a Kum By Yah, love, peace and hair grease environment. But we have been down this road with Tony Dungy. And that is not even bringing up the fact that Todd’s in game management that has been “nationally” questioned. Look I’m a big fan. I support him. Great character etc but it’s NOT a crime to bring up legitimate constructive criticism that he 100% deserves. I’m just as loyal as a fan as anyone and I’m still recovering from my own case do sun poisening from Sundays game. Buts there is nothing wrong with healthy banter. You may not like the words some choose in this thread but that doesn’t make them not valid points. Go Bucs! Go Todd!
September 23rd, 2025 at 3:58 pm
Geno
Interesting. If there’s anything to that, maybe we should be practicing indoors until late November.
September 23rd, 2025 at 4:01 pm
El Bowleszo.
September 23rd, 2025 at 4:05 pm
who is the bucs defensive boss? shouldnt he tell the employees not to slack off? bowles is good for shooting himself in the foot and then sticking it in his mouth.
ok apologistas, have at it. defend todd
September 23rd, 2025 at 4:06 pm
Jets offense didn’t seem “tired.” The Bucs brand of defensive pass “tiredness” we have seen a lot in last couple of years, plus 3 weeks into the 2025 season. Time to stop making excuses and just admit that the pass defense stinks. Don’t know if is the players, the scheme or the DC. Way past time to fix it. There will not be a serious playoff run until it’s fixed.
September 23rd, 2025 at 4:08 pm
J-Dub … ‘I’m a big fan. I support him. Great character etc but it’s NOT a crime to bring up legitimate constructive criticism that he 100% deserves.’
Excellent viewpoint & I share it 100%. In the case of Sunday’s 4th qtr defense, yes we did ‘take our foot off the gas’ but it wasn’t just the players IMO. I thought it was the coaches too. It looked like we blitzed a LOT less in that 4th qtr than we did in the other quarters. Also looked like we had the subs in there more, and I think Todd needs to take a hard look at IF they were getting the job done. I don’t get very concerned about our starters (as long as they’re healthy), but expecting them to go balls-to-the-wall for the full 60 minutes in stifling heat like we had Sunday might be expecting a tad too much. That’s where DEPTH becomes the deciding factor.
September 23rd, 2025 at 4:19 pm
Sorry those stinkin’ Bucs have dropped to 0-3! WTF are you guys looking at ?
It’s the NFL!!! Take a win and be glad. The freaking Browns beat the Pack a team every expert would rank higher than the Bucs. Sh!t happens and cliches exist for a reason as in…the pay the other guys too!
Meanwhile I go online and can see all kinds of football shows on YouTube. It’s where I frequently catch GMFB. Yesterday the guys were praising two Bucs big time! Obviously Baker but they were also lauding TODD BOWLES DEFENSE.
I’ve seen this on other shows with former coaches and athletes saying pretty much the same thing.
It would be interesting if AI was good enough already to see how commenters have posted on JBF in terms of coaches and their jobs. Chucky for example gets all kinds of glory even though he was HANDED a SB ready team and took it in the tank shortly after the Lombardi. In fairness he did finish with two 9-7 Todd like records but the last 9-7 finished him off because of the hot start and total collapse.
Bottom line…are you guys blaming Todd for winning games YOU think his D should have lost? I’m serious WTF are you guys talking about.
I get that ST’s have sucked and Todd is the HC and so tar him with that.
We’ve had a poster here claim the score would have been better with Coen?
Seriously? Griz is 3-0 despite ALL the injuries includng the OL. Coen had that stellar line virtually healthy all year long. Stop with stooopid comparisons.
September 23rd, 2025 at 4:25 pm
Bowles backs his blitzes too often with soft zones. He needs to switch things up and go more man on man or certain players man on man with zone. Bowles overconfuses himself with his too exotic defense. 10 yard cushions dont make a lot of sense with blitz defense. Why on G wilson td did they play cushion defense and blitz on an 11 yard td pass, that made no sense.
September 23rd, 2025 at 4:27 pm
“ it’s NOT a crime to bring up legitimate constructive criticism that he 100% deserves.’
At least not in football.. so far.
September 23rd, 2025 at 4:31 pm
so todd says defense slacked off but some brainiac decides “NO TODD ITS ALL GOOD SHADDUP ALREADY” seriously. he said it.
September 23rd, 2025 at 4:34 pm
Of course the “catch” by Tanner was no catch. So only one touchdown.
But we should not have been there. We were only rushing 4, instead of continuing to apply pressure. The pressure was really getting to Taylor for the previous three quarters.
September 23rd, 2025 at 4:34 pm
@dubcity great point I say this all the time while watching us win watch our so called fans find a way to complain about Todd even though the defense had an ok game special teams is what hurt us the last few games but why not blame Todd
September 23rd, 2025 at 4:39 pm
if this is all true, why didn’t bowles tell guys to cover tighter but play for the tackle. he allowed the soft underbelly to be open, no matter whose fault he suggests it is
September 23rd, 2025 at 4:42 pm
would anyone else have gone for the fourth and one near the end?
September 23rd, 2025 at 4:47 pm
Have to keep it close v Philthy.
September 23rd, 2025 at 5:05 pm
The zebras gave the Jets a TD simple
September 23rd, 2025 at 5:05 pm
Jmark, I see what you did there. Nice one.
September 23rd, 2025 at 5:21 pm
Aquathong is going to have a field day with this article.
I don’t mind people speaking their opinion, but every article the two same guys attack Bowles. Its guaranteed that you will see Hcgrover and Aquathong make a negative comment.
September 23rd, 2025 at 5:46 pm
the game looked like sand lot football, outdoors in the sun and heat like we played in tampa when we were kids. even the field didn’t look that great, brings out the real men!
September 23rd, 2025 at 5:48 pm
Truueee! LOL
A tight game with necessary 2 min come back ====
Foot off gas + special teams can’t block + referees all hail from NY or Vegas.
September 23rd, 2025 at 5:50 pm
NFL MUST fix the auto replay rules and do mandatory ref vision tests…. pay for the damn prescription glasses… corruption investigation… IQ testing… something!
September 23rd, 2025 at 6:09 pm
A coach of a team in Tampa complaining about the heat would not be a good sign, usually! Coach Bowles can be a little defensive about his defensive schemes, maybe. He still hasn’t admitted the blitz against Stafford was bone-headed, lol.
September 23rd, 2025 at 6:29 pm
Bowles was the one who took his foot off the gas. He stopped blitzing in the 4’th quarter. The defense stopped being aggressive and that is on one person, Todd Bowles.
September 23rd, 2025 at 7:37 pm
Gipper … ‘Time to stop making excuses and just admit that the pass defense stinks. Don’t know if is the players, the scheme or the DC.’
Interesting perspective Gipper, but our pass defense through 3 games has actually improved quite a bit over what it was in 2023 & 2024. I think our problem Sunday was that we weren’t very consistent (we played very aggressive for 3 qtrs, but not very aggressive in the 4th).
I like to track plays of 10 yards & longer, both runs & passes. Personally I consider those to be ‘explosive plays’ since that single play can result in a 1st down (not always, but most of the time). By quarter, here’s how the Jets did Sunday in terms of longer plays using that 10 yards or more criteria:
o 1st qtr: 1 run (17 yds) & 1 pass (17 yds).
o 2nd qtr: 1 run (11 yds).
o 3rd qtr: None
o 4th qtr: 1 pass (12 yds), 1 pass (12 yds), 1 pass (11 yds), 1 pass (10 yds), 1 pass (20 yds), 1 pass (12 yds), 1 run (14).
So Jets had 10 ‘explosive plays’ all together (3 runs & 7 passes), with 70% of those (6 passes & 1 run) coming in the 4th qtr. Obviously SOMETHING changed in the 4th qtr, for either the Jets or our Bucs (or both). For the Jets, they used the pass a LOT more in the 4th qtr AND Tyrod did a heck of a job scrambling to keep drives alive (he ended up with 8 rushes for 48 yards).
When we started the 4th qtr, the score was 23-6 in favor of the Bucs. Looks like a lopsided score, and yet our offense was struggling. Bucs scored 29 total points, but offensively we only scored 1 TD (early in the 2nd qtr). Other than that, McLaughlin hit on FIVE FGs & had another FG attempt blocked. Defense added a Pick-6 that you could say ended up being the difference in the ballgame.
Bucs won the Turnover Battle 2-0. We won the Sacks Battle 4-1. We won the TOP Battle 32:11 to 27:49. We had the most Total Yards … 347 to 267. But we got totally whacked on penalties (Bucs had 14 for 124 yds while the Jets had 7 for 81 yds). What should have been a runaway ended up being a squeaker because of (1) penalties; (2) settling for FGs versus scoring TDs; (3) slacking off for whatever reasons in the 4th qtr. But hey, we won so the sun is still shining.
September 23rd, 2025 at 7:53 pm
Defensive schemes and “looks” are not my strong suit.
So, I could be completely wrong about this.
Plus, I can only go by what I see on the TV.
It looked to me like Coach Bowles changed the defensive scheme in the 4th quarter.
Our D was playing “sticky” football for the first 3 quarters. Sacks, QB hits, pressures, an INT, guys were sticking to the Jets players they were covering.
They’ve been doing it for all three games actually… playing more of the ballhawk football the coach said he wanted during the off-season.
What I saw in the 4th quarter looked like it came right out of the playbook from the past couple of seasons… 3rd or 4th and short, and our CBs are 10 yards off the LOS, short pass plays with the nearest defender a couple of time zones away, etc.
I have no doubt the heat played a factor, and again, I can only go by what I saw on the TV. But, as someone else pointed out, the heat didn’t seem to stop the Jets offense.
It looked to me like the defensive scheme was changed in the 4th quarter.
September 23rd, 2025 at 8:00 pm
Just one of them games. They got a break on a TD catch that wasn’t, which gave them all the momentum, then the block TD return, etc. All the ticky tack penalties, weird game man. We won and that’s all that matters.
September 23rd, 2025 at 8:19 pm
The Heat didn’t bother the Jets coach Terry Glen who was wearing all black plus a puffer vest and was dancing down the sidelines deep into the 4th quarter
September 23rd, 2025 at 8:44 pm
I’m just glad the Bucs won. Both teams were worn out by the heat, but the Bucs persevered. LGB!
September 23rd, 2025 at 9:06 pm
The Vikings defense absolutely destroyed a Bengals offense loaded with talent, but had a backup QB in the game. Carolina’s defense destroyed the Falcons
Bowles needed a Baker Mayfield two minute drill to put away a hapless Jets team.
This isn’t a one-off. I’ll be surprised if the Eagles punt.
September 23rd, 2025 at 9:08 pm
Aqualung must have been too busy to read this one. He’d been all over it like the stink coming off of Bowles excuse. His refusal to draft and develop a bonifide front four who can rush the qb instead of his version of the 34 defense is the detriment of this team. Corners are meant to cover and dlinemen for rushing the passer. They spend more time doing each other’s job it’s no wonder it’s difficult doing their own at times. Whenever he tries to take any blame through the coaching staff it’s really no acceptance of his culpability in the break down if the defense. Until it offense can start operating at last years efficiency every game will be like the 1st three and if we go up against a good defense we’re in trouble
September 23rd, 2025 at 9:09 pm
Jets weren’t gassed by the 4th quarter cos the refs kept helping them out (and how!) in the first half. How many points were they gifted, 14? They didn’t have to worry about playing 2 teams like the Bucs did. That will wear you out, 140 degrees notwithstanding. Bucs, get set for outplaying two teams Sunday. Go get ’em!
September 23rd, 2025 at 11:50 pm
Said it on Sunday, but it’s not as simple as time of possession. The Bucs were blitzing the entire day, they were running a ton, and they wore down by the end of games. It’s not like players are in game shape the way they used to be as the NFLPA demands limited practices (no one is in true game shape, and going to 100% full speed after not practicing much is leading to a lot of injuries). Additionally, that Glazerdome means guys aren’t even in the heat all the time for the practices they do have. If the Bucs had sat back in that trash garbage zone defense from last year, sure the defense would have been more fresh, but Taylor would have also passed for 400 yards and 5 TDs. I’ll take wearing out down the stretch, and hope all Glazerdome practices are canceled for the rest of the year.