Five Things
November 17th, 2025
Buffalo QB Josh Allen raked the Bucs’ defense over the coals Sunday.
What a trash performance by the Bucs’ defense and maybe Todd Bowles’ worst coached game of the year in Buffalo. Certainly, the worst since handing Cleveland an upset win in 2022. Grab your mug. You’re probably going to need two belts of black coffee for this.
Trying To Stay Sane
The only reason Joe isn’t going fully bananas this morning screaming at the neighbor’s dog is Joe is trying to keep a level head. As always, Joe looks at history for guidance.
Every year, a Todd Bowles defense completely and totally shats the bed once. And the team gets better afterwards.
Joe’s not using that as an excuse, only trying to resist throwing a beer bottle through his PC screen.
Yesterday was pretty awful. The Bucs got their coveted takeaways (three) and still the defense got blown out. The offense ran for over 200 yards and still the defense got blown out.
The Bucs dominated time of possession and still the defense got blown out.
The offense converted over half its third downs and still the defense got blown out.
Thirty-two points for the Bucs, second-most this season, and still the defense got blown out.
The Bucs defense absolutely got shredded.
If history is any barometer, yesterday will be the worst game of the Bucs’ season. Each year (but one) under Todd Bowles, the Bucs allowed a 40-point game and they got better afterwards.
Only in 2023 did the Bucs under Bowles not give up 40 points in a game, but in Houston the Texans with C.J. Stroud scored 39. The Bucs defense got better afterwards.
2025: Buffalo, 44 points allowed.
2024: Baltimore, 41
2023: Houston, 39
2022: Kansas City, 41
In each season, the defense got better after it got alley-beaten. Will that trend continue? Ask Joe next week.
Killer Instinct, Huh?
Last week in the immediate aftermath of the Bucs’ loss to the Patriots, Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield scolded his teammates for lacking a “killer instinct,” among other details.
The Bucs’ offense, based on yesterday’s loss to Buffalo, took Mayfield’s words to heart. They blocked much better. They ran a whole lot better. They scored 32 points, even with a turnover, and passed on two extra points.
In the wake of Mayfield’s scolding, Bowles said Mayfield was right and he defended Mayfield. Agreed with Mayfield.
It appears Bowles didn’t heed Mayfield’s words, just like his defense apparently ignored Mayfield’s.
The Bucs’ defense coughed up 44 points and over 400 yards of offense to the Bills. But that wasn’t the worst part.
With the Bucs having the ball on their own-39 on fourth-and-two trailing 37-32 and it being perfectly clear Bowles’ defense couldn’t stop a cool breeze, Bowles elected to punt.
Killer instinct, anyone?
Last week, twice, Bowles stood at a podium and agreed with Mayfield about the team lacking a killer instinct. But with a chance to prove he had one, Bowles turned turtle.
And the game was over.
Joe thinks it wasn’t just the defense of the Bucs lacking a killer instinct. So too did the head coach.
Rewind The Tape
No, Joe’s not referring to just the game yesterday. Joe’s referring to hundreds of rants here about a pass rush, specifically an edge rush.
Joe does not believe a team can thrive much less win a title without an edge rush. Joe will bring that to his grave. And once again, pressures don’t faze good quarterbacks. Exactly how did pressures screw up Josh Allen yesterday? Anyone? Bueller?
(Per NextGen Stats, Allen became the second quarterback in the Super Bowl era to throw for three touchdowns and run for three more in the same game. The first quarterback to do that? Josh Allen last season.)
Sunday, the Bucs got zero sacks and one quarterback hit. One!
But why would you need a sack from your best edge rusher when he can, instead, match up against Buffalo backup wide receiver Tyrell Shavers 30 yards downfield? Yeah, that was a savvy matchup — for the Bills — who scored a 43-yard touchdown pass on that play.
The way the Bucs played pass defense yesterday, Buffalo could have dug up Earnie Shavers and he would have scored on the Bucs.
It was just revolting how bad the Bucs defense was, even though they got three coveted takeaways. But sure, go ahead and give a Hall of Fame quarterback plenty of time to throw. What can possibly go wrong? Nah, no need for an edge rush.
(Meanwhile, the only two times the Bucs have won a Super Bowl they had a vicious edge rush. Funny how that happens.)
Games like yesterday in Buffalo will happen until someone who has muscle at One Buc Palace has an epiphany that an edge rusher might be better utilized chasing a Hall of Fame quarterback as opposed to putting him on an island 30 yards downfield against a wide receiver.
But maybe that’s just Joe.
(And please lay off the Myles Garrett nonsense. People come at Joe with Garrett as alleged evidence you don’t need an edge rusher because of the Browns’ losing ways. OK, then tell Joe the last time the Garrett-led Browns coughed up 40 points in a game? Since the start of the 2022 season, the same year Bowles took over the Bucs, the Browns have had one regular-season game where they gave up 40 points. In the same time frame, the Bucs have had three. And this just in: The Browns play in a helluva tougher division than the Bucs. The Bucs don’t have to play Saint Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow twice a year, thankfully.)
Why Did The Bucs Quit Running?
You know what’s sad about yesterday and the shat-the-bed defense? Completely forgotten is that the Bucs had their best running game of the season, 202 yards on 39 rushes.
Never before has a Todd Bowles-Bucs team run for 200 yards and lost. The Bucs had three 200-yard rushing games last year.
Here the Bucs were, having one of their best rushing games, and with third-and-two from the Bucs-39 halfway through the fourth quarter, the Bucs decided to air it out. Instead of putting the ball in Sean Tucker’s hands, or even Rachaad Whites, who like Tucker averaged over five yards a carry, the Bucs decided it was smarter to try to throw to their No. 5 receiver.
Then, on fourth-and-two from their own-39, the Bucs punted.
Terrible. What was Bowles thinking? Was he thinking?
Did he really believe his defense was going to stop Josh Allen when it barely could all afternoon?
Not only did Bowles’ defense throw this game away, he greased the wheels with blind, unwarranted faith.
Todd Bowles’ Worst Day As Bucs Coach?
Bowles must have thought he was watching his son’s Michigan team in a defensive dogfight with Northwestern at Wrigley Field and not the Bucs-Bills game. How else to explain some of Bowles’ decisions?
Forget going for two twice. (Why!) Bowles’ explanation to Joe about the special teams having a horrific day made no sense.
Buffalo’s first 5 kick returns went for 220 yards. Sinful!
Joe asked Bowles about this after the game and he claimed Bucs coaches talked about just kicking the ball out of bounds, thereby the ball would be placed on the Buffalo-40.
Talked about it? How about doing it? What was Bowles waiting for, the Bills to set a record for kick return yardage in a game? Run one back for six?
Joe would have preferred to have Chase McLaughlin kick the ball out of the end zone where the ball ends up on the Buffalo-35. Anything would have been better than what the Bucs decided to do, which was nothing, except let Buffalo return the kickoffs to midfield nearly every time.
Bowles, after the game, grumbled that the special teams set the Bucs up to lose. No, it was the coach who apparently decided to leave the kickoff team alone because they were doing such a kick@ss job.
Where in the world was the awareness yesterday? In Wrigleyville?
November 17th, 2025 at 5:10 am
When individuals on defense make great plays Bowles gets praised for having a great scheme, when our defense leaves guys wide open Bowles blames individuals for not doing their job properly and not getting the fundamentals right.
Bowles is not the coach that will get us lifting a Lombardi, hes proven time and time again that he’s Mr 500. Could we get worse if we dumped him for another coach? Oh definitely we could, but will we win it all with him? I just don’t see it.
November 17th, 2025 at 5:24 am
We’ve come as far as Bowles can take us. His defense got lit up last week, and instead of bouncing back, they got worse. I don’t see them getting better next week at L.A.. This is as good as Bowles can do.
November 17th, 2025 at 5:28 am
We should never have to see Anthony Nelson trying to “cover” a RB. We should never have to see Yaya Diaby 30 to 40 yards down the field in “coverage”. Why do we have to continue to see this garbage?
November 17th, 2025 at 5:36 am
What’s worse is that Bowles never takes responsibility for it! Always blames his coaches or players.
November 17th, 2025 at 5:42 am
Time to start the search for coaching candidates. There must be dozens of football men who can put together a better collection of position coaches and maybe a trillion people who can design a better scheme. I am tired of hearing “ I need to coach better”. Fact is you have had your chance(s)Todd and you have proven you are not the man for the job. Your decision making alone is enough to have you dismissed. The sum of your reign is an underwhelming failure. Bye = bye.
November 17th, 2025 at 5:43 am
Bowles’s defenses have been more bad than good ever since the Super Bowl win. How many games have they given away for the past four years? He’s got to go.
November 17th, 2025 at 5:48 am
Anthony Nelson was covering the the flats, Morrison or Winfield was supposed to be deep, at some point its about execution. Yall really believe Bowles would have his olb covering a wr 30 yards down field. Watch the tape Winfield was terrible this game.
November 17th, 2025 at 5:52 am
Basic fundamentals went out the window yesterday:
As soon as the Bills second kick off went to midfield the decision should have been made to kick out of the endzone and avoid further embarrassment
Going for 2 twice and not getting in – poor judgement again
Having a DE on a WR when your rush is non-existent – outcome is exactly as you would expect – TD Bills
Not going for it in the 4th on 4th and 2 with the game on the line – cowardly & Ball Game
Season is slipping away – Rams will be licking their lips this week
November 17th, 2025 at 5:57 am
i also loved the horrible wasted timeout/challenge, which of course then resulted in a bad spot leaving us with fourth and inches near the goal line. going for two was crazy stupid that early, especially with us being really bad at it and having no tall receivers. i thought the play-calling in general was bad, so the fact they generated so much yardage has gotta be the Bills having the worst defense on the planet. oh, and how about the play-calling after the early SVD-generated pick? wtf was that. grizzard flailing in big spots. clearly, to me at least, the best way for us to move ahead with a severely lacking wideout corps is to establish a secondary wideout, shep or miller for example, or even a TE, early in the game. that’s the only way we can loosen EE’s coverage. we are so predictable it’s sickening. can barely make it through five minutes of first quarter without becoming angry 🙂
November 17th, 2025 at 5:57 am
Here’s a couple of things to add to your 5. 1)Bucs defense gave up more points than total tackles. You might want to ask Bowles, but I dont think thats very good. And 2) gave up 44 points on 53 plays. That’s one helluva points to plays ratio. Bowles and his entire staff need to go.
November 17th, 2025 at 5:59 am
500 coach! Always has been always will be. Year after year we find ourselves questioning the exact same issues. The reality is, Bowles knows one type of defense. He claims to have made changes, but I don’t see it. Soft zone coverage, dropping D linemen into coverage, no pass rush, poor communication, came out flat games, players loafing, wide a$$ open receivers, same, same, same, same, same.
November 17th, 2025 at 6:02 am
Tampa replaced HOF Dungy to get over the hump. It is time to do the same with Bowles in 2026.
Disgraceful display yesterday and unforgivable not going for it on 4th and 2. Should have run Tucker on 3rd and 2!
November 17th, 2025 at 6:04 am
Joe, the Bucs lost that game before they played it. That is the current mindset. Well Joe BRACE YOURSELF!!! wait til they play the Rams next week. It may be a 50 burger, with who knows how many yards Stafford will throw for. Mindset minset, this team not concerned in the locker room after losing!, The year we thought could have been
November 17th, 2025 at 6:15 am
It’s beyond unacceptable to have this many busted coverages/players out of position two weeks in a row this deep into an NFL season. I watch almost every other game on Sunday Ticket and don’t see this anywhere else in the league, including with the worst record teams.
November 17th, 2025 at 6:16 am
All these pundits on T.V. applaud the wooden Indian for his blitz schemes. They are idiots. it’s not working and seldom do they sack anyone.
November 17th, 2025 at 6:20 am
RB1: Bucky
RB2: Tucker
RB3: White
Tucker might win NFC Offensive player of the week. Make the change Todd. It’s obvious.
November 17th, 2025 at 6:28 am
Watch his presser from yesterday, and I assume today as well. He’s completely full of $hit and excuses.
This team is soft and his scheme on Defense is utterly ridiculous.
On the bright side the Bucs locker room was happy yesterday. We’ve got culture!
November 17th, 2025 at 6:30 am
Bowels should have never been our head coach he has done nothing but waste years of good talent. Never been a fan of his never will be.
November 17th, 2025 at 6:31 am
Glazers fired HOF HC Tony Dungy for similar results. We can only hope Bowles is shown the door soon. Time to go Todd!
November 17th, 2025 at 6:31 am
Piling on against the … entire Bucs Nation! 15 yards. Lets not forgot the awful goal-line offense — settling for 3 after the pick. It seemed to me Baker “willed” that first touchdown with another tough run.
November 17th, 2025 at 6:33 am
I dare anyone to watch the game replay, on both of those long plays, diaby and Nelson are covering the flats, Winfield and Morrison was suppose to be over top. Players need to execute. Winfield was caused for a lot of blown coverages
November 17th, 2025 at 6:33 am
Jason Licht told everyone that he thought HIS guys could win a Superbowl by standing pat at the trade deadline and not making a deal to bring in the leading tackler in the NFL Jordyn Brooks.
HOW THE F IS THAT GOING JASON LICHT?
November 17th, 2025 at 6:41 am
I saw that Toilet Bowl is 7-18 against teams .500 or better as the Bucs head coach. Can anyone confirm that? I think the guy is absolutely terrible.
November 17th, 2025 at 6:43 am
The outside the market social agenda trolls plus Rod will try b to.pin this on Baker but Joe is right the defense stunk. lets not forget special teams setting up the Bills for short drives. Clearly the special teams coach is a Todd buddy hire,and that never works out. Baker is right he should not have thrown that pick. Punting would have been better. Going for 2 twice v was the correct call. Baker apparently can run again. The offence can not rely on the defence and has to play aggressively so punting when they are in their half punting was,a bad idea.
November 17th, 2025 at 6:44 am
“I saw that Toilet Bowl is 7-18 against teams .500 or better as the Bucs head coach. Can anyone confirm that? I think the guy is absolutely terrible.”
It’s simple. Bowles beats bad teams and loses to good ones. There are occasional exceptions, but this is what he is.
November 17th, 2025 at 6:47 am
If Bucs get to the point where they can’t control their own destiny. Start giving reps to the young players you plan on bringing back next year. Try to improve draft position. Get people under the knife who need surgery so they can contribute week 1. Hire a DC . Special Teams staff needs modified. I don’t see How Bucky and WRs returning from injury will be enough this year. To many positions need upgraded. I don’t see this current team going 4-0 against good playoff teams to win a SB. If you got a shot at the NFC South go for it, if not get ready for next year. At some point these decisions are going to have to be made. Bucs need to start playing with urgency.
November 17th, 2025 at 6:52 am
Imagine being a Bills fan this morning and waking up thinking how bad your defense has been in recent weeks.
I would imagine your next thought might be, “Didn’t think it possible, but the Bucs defense is worse!”
November 17th, 2025 at 6:59 am
five excuses you’ll likely hear this week
1) “guys are nicked up. we lost dean early”
2) “communication”
3) “execution”
4) “coaches have to coach better”
5) “we’re still in rebuild mode somewhat”
November 17th, 2025 at 6:59 am
Management and coachs have led us all to believe the Bucs are a Super Bowl contenders. The two halfs yesterday were clearly like two different teams. The Bucs laid an egg and the Bill’s dominated.
That was on Bowles.
I hate to say this – he is not the coach for the job and there’s no coach on the staff either. Jason Licht and ownership have a problem and need a solution at the end of the season.
If this teams outcome goes like lastyear, changes need to happen starting with Todd Bowles.
November 17th, 2025 at 7:00 am
No team since at least 2000 has allowed more points than defensive tackles in a game, per available data from sources like Pro-Football-Reference and ESPN. Great job Todd. You accomplished a feat that has not been duplicated in 25 years. GURU
November 17th, 2025 at 7:02 am
There will be two reasons for me to watch the game against the Rams this week. Either: *The optimistic me gets rewarded for not giving into what I’m thinking right now or, *Welcome to the dark side, here is your FIRE BOWLES t-shirt
November 17th, 2025 at 7:07 am
I don’t want to hear that the Offense has a “killer instinct.”
No they don’t.
The Defense was an embarrassment. None of those guys have an ounce of pride. They were just millionaires waiting for this to be over so they could get on a shuttle to the airport.
In the bad years of this franchise, this is how they played.
The Head Coach looked meek and foolish with his DEs chasing Cook down the field.
Look at every playoff team they’ve played. Lost them all except Seattle.
How is anyone supposed to believe they will get better?
Not with these losers.
Killer attitude my ass.
November 17th, 2025 at 7:14 am
-A coach killer instincts don’t settle for FGs when you have a turnover inside the opponents 10 yd line. That mentality is set in camp, it is made known to the OC & offensive players that if the D forces a turnover inside the opponents 10 you have 4 downs to score a TD and you better F’ing score.
-End of the half, a coach with a killer instinct tells his OC we cross the 50 and within a reasonable down and distance you have 4 downs.
-End of the game, a coach with a killer instinct tells his OC we’re going for the win you have 4 downs until we punch it in.
A coach with a killer instinct doesn’t take a knee after utilizing two timeouts while on D with just over a minute left down two TDs. This dude is a F’ing bum
November 17th, 2025 at 7:35 am
Has the losing team ever kneeled down to end the game? That was pathetic to watch. Bowles is a horrible coach. He may have just surrendered the season.
November 17th, 2025 at 7:39 am
We have a coach floating in space. The dropping back OLB HAS TO GO!!!!!
You are not fooling a HOF QB!
HC not taking responsibility on the insanity happening at kick off???????
I’m realizing our next Super Bowl coach is not Bowles.
I almost feel like apologizing to Aqualong. SMH
November 17th, 2025 at 7:41 am
Buffalo was 25-3 in their last 28 games at home. Now it’s 26-3
There were certainly some horrible plays yesterday. But that would be MY point!!
First off what would the game have looked like if the Bucs had special teams?
Secondly, yes there were a couple of blown coverages and some horribly missed tackles (that’s on Todd and the players) but overall take out the big plays and the Bucs had more success than the rest of the league against one of the top 3 run games in the league.
I agree that Bowles should not have punted. That was vintage Todd and erased the good taste that was beginning to grow after several gambles earlier in the season. But I agree with Joe at that point it was clear this was NOT going to be a DEFENSIVE battle.
Now for the blog optimist. Baker RETURNED!!! I do not know the extent of his injuries, only what I’ve read, but his play over the past few games had gone downhill and he stopped running completely. Yesterday the OLD Baker returned and so the bye must have helped.
Nobody is saying the Bills D is world class that’s for sure but still if kudos were handed out this morning Kevin Carberry is among the first in line. Given the OL sent out there yesterday how he keeps mixing and matching has been a thing to admire.
There were some other positives to take but far be it from me to rain on anybody’s pity party and ruin their excuse to continue taking cheap shots at Bowles. By cheap I mean hyperbolic! He’s far from perfect and yes HE and the entire DEFENSE shat the bed. LVD’s age starting showing. The fact that the “free agent” “rusher” can’t even get on the field and has produced NOTHING doesn’t help.
I think only ONE thing is the goal. The Super Bowl. To do that the Bucs need to get to the playoffs where anything can happen especially with a QB like Mayfield and ESPECIALLY if the Bucs get healthy. Think ME, CG, or Bucky might have helped. How about all THREE! I would say think it would have helped if Reddick was healthy but you guys would laugh at me, and you’d probably be right.
Reddick’s career is at the cross roads or perhaps the end of the line. He has half an NFL season to recover it.
November 17th, 2025 at 7:51 am
Let’s not forget this is the same D and DC that allowed a rook to beat us in a home playoff game, and they did not punt!
I guess his EXOTIC SCHEMES are having OLBs, DEs and DTs cover scat backs and wide receivers.
We have maxed our under him.
Yes, it been obvious, TB and JL, have low T.
November 17th, 2025 at 7:52 am
If you can’t stop punt returns you kick the ball away. Linemen should not be covering receivers, and every damn time we score, bowles goes for 2, we don’t get it, it takes all of momentum away when the opposing team stops us,and that momentum carries them right back to another score on us. I have bitched about no pass rush for 3 years while guys were on here during the draft attacking me for being mad that we focused on receivers instead of on pass rushers and secondary. Shepherd caught more passes than the rest of our receivers combined yesterday. So we obviously would have been way better off fixing what knocked us out of the last 3 seasons and it wasn’t receiving!
November 17th, 2025 at 7:52 am
@BigZ
watch the replay, they were only covering the flats, winfield or morrison should have been back there.
November 17th, 2025 at 8:02 am
A year ago at this time it was becoming apparent that Cohen was the more impactful coach- that all of the issues you just described, Joe, and we’ve witnessed countless times, were being mitigated by a darn impressive OC. Still, this organization did what it always seems to do—back the wrong horse.
Then, it whined and cried like a bunch of amateurs when Jacksonville did whatever it had to do to get their guy. It’s called killer instinct, something the organization has lacked since Bruce ‘retired’.
I’m honestly not sure why Todd’s leash is so long. The ‘winning record’ and division titles, when looked at objectively, are like a Potemkin’s Village. Where’s the accountability for the truly awful Special Teams and ongoing debacle on Defense? Aside from the QB, who gives this team everything he has, where’s the leadership on the other side of the ball? And don’t tell me it’s David or Vea because a prideful Defense doesn’t have ‘communication issues’ and give up big plays nearly every week for the past five years.
We’ve been conned into believing the status quo is good enough. It isn’t. Or at least ownership used to have higher expectations and standards, just ask Father Dungy.
November 17th, 2025 at 8:05 am
We need a young, innovative, offensive minded coach with an agressive mentality. Oh, we had him in the building last year. His name was Liam Cohen and we let him walk out the door, albeit in a very slimy way. Look what he’s done to the lowly Jacksonville Jaguars. They have the same record as the Bucs, with half the talent. You blew it Glazers and Licht. Now we’re stuck with Bowles. Every week feels like Groundhog Day.
November 17th, 2025 at 8:07 am
I watched and either way it was a bad D call or 21 was lost, again. TB still likes to drop our Dline and edges in coverage. It just bad match up football, especially vs the Allens and Mahones of the world. I’ll watch next week and 50 will drop in the flat to cover Corum or Williams, watch.
The league knws what he does. We do and we don’t coach or watch film 65 hours a week.
Bottom line is he has zero killer instinct as does JL.
Not making Washington punt last year was intolerable and embarrassing.
Hes wasted some good talent in their prime.
November 17th, 2025 at 8:12 am
No confidence in Bowles. He is horrible and his defense looks about the same as what Jameis had. Poor Jameis, now poor Baker. lol. LVD was trying to cover a WR that blew right past him into the end zone on one play. Luckily the ball was overthrown. I am convinced that the Bucs need to get rid of Bowles and stupid outdated defenses. Jason also needs to be forced to get some top flight veteran talent on the D line.
If you think what Maye and Allen did to the defense is bad, just what until they play Stanford. The Rams are going to destroy the Bucs defense. The Bucs are not a championship team and the coaching is pathetic.
November 17th, 2025 at 8:13 am
Stafford. auto correct. lol.
November 17th, 2025 at 8:15 am
you know we’ve seen this movie so many times before. And they keep extending Todd Bowles contract. I also am sick of him.
November 17th, 2025 at 8:23 am
Tom Brady had ONE losing season in his career. WHO was the head coach during that season?????
November 17th, 2025 at 8:29 am
Firing Todd Bowles is something that has to be considered. His defense was not angry after getting boat-raced yet again. They should be hopping mad about getting embarrassed yet again but besides Baker, I did not here that anyone took responsibility for this embarrassing loss. Examples should be made, the special teams coordinator should be fired today, Bowles should be told that another embarrassing performance by his D will result in himself losing his DC tag and perhaps benching a couple of the players who have kind of been mailing it in after getting paid. Have they quit on Bowles? It happened before with Rah (and is again for him in the ATL), they may like the guy but realize his schemes are 20 years too old.
November 17th, 2025 at 8:33 am
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Todd can’t take accountability for HIS failures as a head coach. He’ll always blame it on someone else.
November 17th, 2025 at 8:34 am
The talent window is closing and the Bucs are wasting their talent on sub standard coaching. As much as no one likes Gruden, I’d take him in a NY minute over Bowles. At least Gruden would try to find a decent DC. You know a coach that doesn’t drop the D line in coverage. lol.
November 17th, 2025 at 8:43 am
5 things
Should have never let Liam get out of the building
Should have never signed Reddick to a $14 million dollar deal
Should have never extended Godwin to $22 million a year
Should have never went into the season without hiring a dedicated DC
Should have never and I mean never should have extended Todd Bowles
November 17th, 2025 at 8:51 am
Another one-sided affair, for the life of me I just want to see this team put together a complete enough game to win games we know we can.
Offense taking the booty.
Defense not giving up the booty.
And Special Teams not being left on “read” while returners just move and shake by them.
I see Buc fandom doing what buc fandom does, now everybody has a thesis on whether Bowles will be fired and I think that’s 100% knee-jerk behavior because the average fan is one of two, irrational and impulsive. Some of us fans are just sore losers.
10 down, 7 to go, and we’re still holding our fate in our hands. What we do with it has nothing to do with what anybody outside of 1 Buc thinks and that’s alright.
November 17th, 2025 at 8:55 am
Bowles is not the answer
Division Champs is are claim to fame in a weak division
Sorry Bowles fans YESTERDAY shows the truth
32 points and can’t stop anyone
November 17th, 2025 at 9:01 am
Let’s think about what Bowles is really telling us….his system, with his guys who are all well experienced in this scheme, are still missing assignments in yr 4? That tells me the scheme is too complicated and frankly puts players out of position. The play with Yaya 30 yds down the field trying to cover a WR is literally everything that’s wrong with the defense.
I’ve said this for yrs….when it counts, this defense can rarely ever get a critical stop late in the game. Why? Because the defense is gassed, usually in the later part of Q3 you’ll start to notice the RBs gashing off 6-8 yd chunks. Bowles has rode the coattails of the SB performance as far as one possibly can. It had nothing to with his genius, we had an all star front 7 and an offense that could score consistently and build leads. Anyone could have called non stop blitzes with that combo. The issue now is Bowles doesn’t have an elite front seven and his defense is exposed for what it’s always been.
November 17th, 2025 at 9:02 am
What does Todd Blows do here to make this team better?
He’s been here 7 years!!! 7 YEARS and the defense is still sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
BAD
November 17th, 2025 at 9:02 am
Agree with Joe and others, this isn’t the first game with special teams concerns. Maybe it is time to make a big change there.
The Bucs did keep James Cook back. And that is how to win over the Bills. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out for us this time around. They did keep Josh frazzled for awhile. It’s not all on Todd though.
We usually do better on the road, hopefully against the Rams this Sunday. The game is at 8:20. But because there is a 3 hour difference, the Bucs should still feel as though it’s late afternoon and not evening.
November 17th, 2025 at 9:13 am
I’m not saying who should’ve been covering who, I’m just saying that we all saw 2 of the bigger Bucs, Yaya and Nelson, WHO ACTUALLY ARE BIG ENOUGH TO TACKLE JOSH ALLEN, out in coverage. It’s crazy.
November 17th, 2025 at 9:19 am
I think as I was watching the infamous 4th and 2 possession, I was indifferent about the decision. I was a bit surprised, but at that point in the game, Bowles goes for it on 4th down and doesn’t convert, it’s game over right there, and I can’t recall, but nothing felt good about our offense at that point in the game.
So, Bowles took the lesser option, which was to pin the Bills back, let Allen try to work the length of the field, which btw, was not common for him that day given his special teams gave him a min of starting field position at the 50. We get a couple of key stops, and maybe we’re only chasing 8 with plenty of time, all our timeouts, oh and BTW… it actually would have worked if not for the f@cking helmet grab from Parrish on a third down stop, which gave the Bills 15 yards putting them in easy striking distance of the inzone. That was the game right there. That penalty, led to us burning timeouts, and even if we stopped Allen there for 3 pts, that would have killed just enough clock for a miracle finish.
The decision is very reminiscent of last years playoff loss to the Washington. Bowles chose to kick the field goal to tie, vs going for a 4th down conversion, where again, if we don’t convert, game is over right there on that play.
It wasn’t a good day for Bowles defense, but I just don’t see how you can have it both ways. In both those circumstances, he gave his team a chance to make a play, vs ending the game on one solitary snap right then and there.
November 17th, 2025 at 9:21 am
@Warren Brooks Lynch…perfectly said. Way too rational for this crowd though.
November 17th, 2025 at 9:21 am
This internet commentator has it right:
In a game where the Tampa Bay Buccaneers eclipsed the 200-yard rushing mark and their defense couldn’t get a stop, the decision was made to have Baker Mayfield throw it on 3rd-and-2. When he couldn’t convert, Todd Bowles opted to punt the football away, and the Bills answered with a touchdown drive that put the game away at 44-32. Injuries to the receiving corps are an obvious issue right now for Tampa Bay, but coaching feels like the bigger reason the Buccaneers have lost two straight and now sit at 6-4 after a 5-1 start.
November 17th, 2025 at 9:21 am
Todd Bowles’ Worst Day As Bucs Coach?
The truly sad thing is it is an extremely tough question to ponder. There are so many examples of bad decisions, explanations that don’t make sense and just plain failure to have the team prepared that rival yesterday’s pathetic coaching failure. And you only have to look one game back to find the first example.
November 17th, 2025 at 9:26 am
Kick the ball out of the End Zone!!! How hard is that?! Apparently it’s harder than an Ernie Shavers punch (loved watching Shavers throw a bomb, thanks Joe for the reminder!). At what point is it time to admit that Todd’s defensive system doesn’t work? We have been one of the worst teams in the NFL vs the pass for years now. Sure we stopped James Cook (except when Nelson was covering him!!), but why would they bother when the pass is so easy? We consistently make QBs look like world beaters.
November 17th, 2025 at 9:41 am
Should have signed Bosa instead of Reddick! Should have drafted DL / LB in the 2nd instead of the soft corner.
November 17th, 2025 at 9:41 am
Todd is who he is. Plays not to lose instead of to win. I think he’s worn out his welcome. Time for new leadership.
November 17th, 2025 at 9:44 am
What’s crazy is that even on the broadcast they said Anthony Nelson was the one covering James Cook on his TD reception and how it was an impossible task. Todd Blows needs to go.
November 17th, 2025 at 9:47 am
Secure Coen 2025
Well since the Glazers failed to do that. What happened yesterday was 100% inevitable. It was Coen’s offense that covered for Bowels failings last season.. But, Coen and his offense have the left the building and Bowles ineptitude is all that is left. So, some of you laughed when I said this last season. I don’t see many people laughing now. And I get no satisfaction (at all) in saying that.
November 17th, 2025 at 9:50 am
what I cannot stand is that nobody holds Bowles accountable, he got an extension instead of a threat of getting fired. He makes dumb azz decisions that are mind boggling and we just have to accept it. He is the cheapest head coach in the league (least paid) so that works well for the Buccaneers. The good coaches are paid 5 times or more than him. Anyway I do not see this team making the playoffs or doing anything more than getting blown out of the first round. Nothing changes when nothing changes–simple as that
November 17th, 2025 at 10:03 am
JOE. Totally agree. Bowles lost us this game. Worst day ever. A day when we could have won this game. Even with the defense playing trash we still could have won. Going for 2 twice didn’t have to happen dumb decisions. The 3 and 2 like you said. Why throw it when the run game was working. Most likely grizz call but he prob thought he could trick the defense but the fact they didn’t go for it on 4th when the defense couldn’t stop anything all game another dumb decision and then to do nothing but talk about the kick offs. Coaches should be fired for this type of performance.
November 17th, 2025 at 10:04 am
Time to fire the defensive and special teams coordinators. Both have been ugly all year. Eve. If they keep Bowles as HC he needs to let go and Make someone else accountable.
November 17th, 2025 at 10:11 am
Firethecannons
“what I cannot stand is that nobody holds Bowles accountable, he got an extension instead of a threat of getting fired.”
Explain what you mean by “accountable”. Do you mean pleasing fans or producing results as in winning titles and games?
Everybody seems to love Liam now forgetting that it was his OFFENSE that failed to show up for last year’s playoff loss!
I’m honestly curious. If Todd wins a 4th CONSECUTIVE Division title and goes a couple games deep into the playoffs much less win a Super Bowl will guys still be asking to see him fired? Seriously. Just curious.
The Bucs are currently in the top third tier of teams favored to win the SB. How about getting us back to the bottom 1/3 eh.
November 17th, 2025 at 10:19 am
I read on another message board Bowles is 7-18 against teams with a winning record. IF true….thats exactly why our record or winning a weak division isn’t a real measurable IF we’re truly trying to be a contender. In the playoffs ALL the teams are good and his record indicates he’s 2x as likely to lose against winning teams. We’ve witnessed this fact repeatedly in the playoffs. The Bucs stumble their way in to the postseason via a really weak division but once everyone is good, we’re generally first to exit regardless of if we’re at home.
We talk about players mailing it in once they get their big pay day but Bowles might not be much better. He’s indicated he’s closing in on retirement, just got a big extension….dude brings little to the table in scheme or general motivation. You get the sense that the players love him but they don’t seem to fear him in the form of accountability.
November 17th, 2025 at 10:24 am
stpetebucsfan, thanks for the balance. I’m still mad at Bowles for the 4th and 2. I’ll get over it. Maybe it’s part of the long range plan. Get the offense healthy enough and the defense embarrassed enough and the coach bold enough for a post season run. No better time to start than next Sunday. Pats and Bills AFC teams. Beat the NFC Rams and the swagger should come back.
November 17th, 2025 at 10:29 am
Killer instinct, what a joke.
Showed up in Grizzards playcalling right after the 1st INT. Bucs needed 7! That’s the game all of us knew we were in. But let’s test them with 2 runs up the middle for nothing.
Next series he woke up and gave Baker read options and starting getting some pulls and outside runs. Well jeez all those runs went for 4+. What a surprise that the guy runs from the 5 behind tight formation 12-13 personnel got stuffed. Idiotic.
November 17th, 2025 at 10:35 am
Bring in the Closer to coach next year ,, you will find him at one of your local area hooters ,,,,,,,,,., Man!
November 17th, 2025 at 10:44 am
If you’re talking about kicking out of bounds then you need to fire your ST coach.
November 17th, 2025 at 10:49 am
“If Todd wins a 4th CONSECUTIVE Division title and goes a couple games deep into the playoffs much less win a Super Bowl will guys still be asking to see him fired?”
You know they will St.Pete, but again sore losers exist. Can’t knock them, because we’ve lost games in the fashion we have, but in the Todd Bowles era with this team you can almost predict these responses after a loss like that.
November 17th, 2025 at 10:51 am
think its time for bowles to hire a true DC…
ive been super supportive of bowles but this mess is embarrassing to say the least….
GO BUCS
November 17th, 2025 at 10:58 am
Keep all eyes and ears on Baker Mayfield. What he says, does, alludes to, smirks at, rolls his eyes over, ignores, smiles at, or suggests are all clues. His contract extension probably will drag on. I don’t see him resigning until the entire coaching situation gets resolved to his satisfaction. I think it is very unlikely that he comes back for more of the same. Some owners and coaches are licking their chops at the possibility of signing him for huge money and he will take that money. I predicted that the coaching search was already underway and I sure hope it is. The Glazers need to step out of the shadows, prove their competence, and exert publicly their authority. Jason needs to be talking to anyone and everyone. This is a defining moment for the Bucs organization.
Todd Bowles needs to announce today his retirement after the season so that the coaching search can begin. The Glazers have been very loyal to him and he needs to return the favor. The morale of the team, front office and fans needs to be bolstered. The players would likely play with better effort to support Bowles and improve their resume. Bowles needs to fire some of his buddies and place some new coaches in charge. He needs to focus on his legacy and leave on a high note. He would gain respect if he admits his shortcomings and helps to guide this team forward.
November 17th, 2025 at 11:00 am
The last few games the defense has been sloppy giving up huge explosive plays. It can Be fixed by getting back to fundamentals.
The 4th and 2 decision should get a coach fired if we don’t win the division.
Everyone talks about edge rush but more importantly we have no pass rush without generating a free blitz, ever. No one on our defensive front is capable of beating the man in front of them and I hope they read this and it challenges their manhood.
Why did we stop running? Probably the same reason we kept trying to run her sweeps when we were averaging 6yrds a carry up the gut. Our offensive coordinator got cute. Remember that killer instinct thing, if a team is bleeding somewhere you keep hitting it where it’s bleeding.
November 17th, 2025 at 11:04 am
“Everybody seems to love Liam now forgetting that it was his OFFENSE that failed to show up for last year’s playoff loss!”
And I thought it was because the defense couldn’t get off the field… My bad
November 17th, 2025 at 11:17 am
Flash backs of Mike Smith defense. Say it ain’t so!
November 17th, 2025 at 11:18 am
I’ve been screaming this since season 1 under Super Todd. All the signs were there immediately that he wasnt a trash can coach. I’m shocked it has took this long for people to realize it. Unfortunately I dont think the Glazers are going to pull the trigger anytime soon after just extending him. We are stuck with him.
November 17th, 2025 at 11:22 am
Unfortunately, this is not the ONE time the defense shats the bed. They did it in Seattle as well.
It comes down to one major thing- pressure AND sacks from the front 4.
I have defended Bowles for some time. I think he can be brilliant, but his lack of developing a front 4 pass rush, or seemingly even to care about one while relying on blitzes, is becoming massively detrimental.
It is becoming a Tony Dungy scenario…. great coach but someone else may need to come in to get them over the hump.
November 17th, 2025 at 11:31 am
Todd Bowles must be shaving points!! He should be investigated. Very poor head coach job. Very poor defense calling job. Todd Bowles should have fired the special teams coach after the 3rd or 4th game. The Glazers should fire both Todd Bowles and the ST coach immediately!! Why wait till the end of the season???? This season could still be salvaged!! I’m sure he Glazers see that! But not with the current head coach and special teams coach remaining on the field!!!!!!!! A sad day in Buffalo. And it only gets worse next week in LA!
November 17th, 2025 at 11:41 am
I think Todd Bowles wants to set an NFL record for most 50 plus yard plays given up by a defense in a single season. Why else does he have his 2 best pass rushers( Yaya and Nelson )30 yards down field covering running backs, tight ends, and wide receivers????? They will get beat 98% of the time!!! He knows that doesn’t he??
November 17th, 2025 at 11:48 am
I don’t even want to talk about Bowles at this point — it’s the same story over and over again. The offense puts up enough points to win, and the defense simply cannot make a stop. What I do want to bring up, and something nobody seems to talk about, is our GM.
The team has been lucky because he’s hit on offensive draft picks, but on the defensive side of the ball, not so much. Look at the last couple of years and tell me a defensive player who truly stands out.
Calijah Kancey – Shows flashes but has been injured every year.
Chris Braswell – A 2nd-round pick who can’t get on the field as a starter or even a backup.
Morrison – Has looked lost every time he’s out there; another 2nd-round pick.
SirVocea Dennis – Injured most of his career and hasn’t looked good most of this year.
Logan Hall – Yet another 2nd-round pick who still hasn’t become the dominant force we were told he would be.
JTS – No longer on the team, but another early pick who never emerged.
Yaya – Shows flashes, but that’s about it.
I’d also argue that keeping Dean over Davis was a mistake. Dean hasn’t stayed healthy since the moment he signed that contract.
And finally, a major strike against the GM: not making trades this year even though four of your star offensive players were out for most of the season—especially at receiver. That alone should have pushed him to be more aggressive.
November 17th, 2025 at 11:52 am
I for one am not jumping ship on my home team Buccaneers!! Just like most of you, I was very disappointed in some of the decisions that were made in the Buffalo game but that game is behind us. It’s over and done.
The next game against the Rams is a game the Bucs could very well win. The odds makers give us over a 30 % chance of winning. If our Bucs, who are very used to playing strong teams, go to LA and play a mistake free game, we may come away with a much needed victory. It’s definitely not going to be easy, but as the Bucs analyze the Rams this week I’m sure they will determine what needs to done to beat them !!
One thing is for sure, our Buccaneers will fight to win this game !! They will give it everything they have !!
Go Bucs !! Beat the Rams !!
November 17th, 2025 at 12:06 pm
Bowles shouldn’t have punted. Baker largely played great and Tucker was amazing. If he gets even with the secondary HE IS GONE. It is so refreshing to have a RB that fast that he cannot be chased down if he breaks free. We need to use that speed and frequently. Also, we need to identify all the blown coverages on defense and correct it all or bench a player or two if it will not correct.
This team is Super Bowl worthy with its top WR’s. We would have put up 60 points with them. Absolutely unstopppable with the addition of Evans, Godwin, McMillan. Im not sure we wouldn’t have scored on every single drive with them. So yeah- Bowles needs to help the defense AND WE NEED OUR STARTERS BACK!!!
November 17th, 2025 at 12:07 pm
BOWLES is a great head coach except for a few things.
1. The d he coordinates is not good.
2. Clock management is bad.
3. Gametime decisions are off. (2 games in a row chasing points).
4. He doesn’t get the players ready for big games.
5. He doesn’t hold other coaches accountable (ST)
Other than these little things, he is a great coach.
November 17th, 2025 at 12:10 pm
BFFL.
Almost all of these players are in a d line position. Maybe it is the coaches scheme that prioritizes their coverage ability over pass rushing skills?
I can understand the trade frustration, but at the same time I dont know if I trust a todd bowles d to look good even if he would have traded for a top tier pass rusher. Maybe Licht understands that it is the scheme and not the players?
November 17th, 2025 at 12:13 pm
The future trajectory of this franchise is in peril. The Bucs were making gains in the media with regard to relevance and perception. The Glazers risk all that by allowing this fiasco to continue. They should “encourage” Todd Bowles to announce his forthcoming retirement and willingness to assist in finding his replacement. Such an action will keep the media focused on the team. It will be viewed as positive and paint Bowles favorably. Bowles needs to fire the special teams coach and fire his game management assistant. He needs to designate a leader to be responsible as defense coordinator. In essence he needs to own up to all that the fans and media already see. If the Glazers and Bowles let this drag out it will have a detrimental long term effect on the franchise. If the Glazers manage to lose Baker Mayfield to the highest bidder because of his dissatisfaction with the organization this franchise is cooked.
November 17th, 2025 at 12:20 pm
I thought this in the spring when he left and I still believe it: the Glazers whiffed when they chose to keep Bowles as head coach instead of elevating Coen to the job. This is Todd Bowles maxed out. Division champs in the weakest division in the NFL, poor decisions at critical moments, and hiring OCs who then are allowed to leave to become head coaches elsewhere. Not good enough to win a Super Bowl, nor bad enough to get fired or get high draft picks. Slow drift towards mediocrity.
November 17th, 2025 at 12:22 pm
A word to Todd Bowles. Put your ego aside and show humility and love for the organization that got you to where you are today. You likely would never again been a head coach were it not for the Glazers and the awful circumstances that got you here. BA put you into that circumstance. The BA model of retirement and special advisor is one you should consider. It could keep you relevant and boost your stock and provide media income for you family.
November 17th, 2025 at 12:42 pm
Todd, you would gain respect if you just said ” I’m an old guy and this is a young man’s game and it is time for new blood and ideas.”