Can Bucs’ Good Fortune Continue Against Carolina?
December 17th, 2025
Can he find the right buttons to push?
If the Bucs have a pulse, if unnamed defensive players Bucs coach Todd Bowles called out last week have a heartbeat, now is the time to show it.
For if the Bucs come up short Sunday in Charlotte, the Bucs will have dug themselves the mother of all holes.
The way the Bucs have mostly played since the bye, if they lose Sunday, would anyone really expect the Bucs to beat both Miami and Carolina in the final two weeks of the season to make the playoffs?
The past three years the Bucs have had good success against the Stinking Panthers, winning five straight games. Prior to that streak, the Bucs had beaten the Stinking Panthers 9 out of 10 times. The Bucs have owned the Stinking Panthers on offense, outscoring Carolina by a total of 287-163.
If the Bucs can’t get these unnamed players to focus and be locked in with their playoff lives likely at stake, well, then the Bucs have big problems.
How much of an a-hole can you be to dog it and not pay attention to detail and help the defense blow games while you watch your teammates have to eat an L as a result?
Show some pride, people!
December 17th, 2025 at 9:01 am
Not taking anything for granted at this pont. This has been one of the strangest seasons.
December 17th, 2025 at 9:04 am
What is this “Good Fortune “ you speak of?
Losing for a higher draft position?
That’s the only thing to hope for.
Even with a rebound with the WR’s joining the starting 53 , the team is not competitive with the top teams in the NFC
The goal for this team going into the year was nothing less than making it to the NFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME!
It’s clear that this team is not that caliber!
December 17th, 2025 at 9:06 am
When you can’t adjust the pass defense in SEVEN seasons it’s on coaching, the combination of players changes but the constant is ALWAYS Todd and his passive scheme.
7-10 finish is likely, the only silver lining is that Todd will be fired, sadly it’s a year too late
December 17th, 2025 at 9:07 am
I read the article after my post above.
You don’t think those stats won -loss record against the Panthers are motivation for them?
They are licking their chops to beat down the Bucs!
December 17th, 2025 at 9:07 am
It will be up to those unnamed defensive player. Bowels has so much as said there is nothing he can do to fix things.
Happy retirement Bowel Movement. I would like to say it is well earned but I just can’t bring myself to go there.
December 17th, 2025 at 9:10 am
We’re licking our chops to beat Carolina too.
I think ME is looking forward to owning Carolina Sunday, like he always does.
December 17th, 2025 at 9:12 am
Who outbluders who is the question. Can Canales throw it away just as easy as Bowles?? Canales is capable of big blunders too.
December 17th, 2025 at 9:13 am
Being competitive against bad teams isn’t it cya Todd
December 17th, 2025 at 9:16 am
This season is no different than the last 5 and we figured it out at the end. I believe in this team and making it to the playoffs is the goal because anything can happen once you’re there.
As it stands we’d probably face an NFC West team and we’ve beaten 3 of 4 of them already.
After that win its another NFC West team that we’ve beaten 3 of 4 already.
Conference Championship and Super Bowl will just be formalities at that point.
GO BUCS!!!
December 17th, 2025 at 9:17 am
I figured losing to the Aints would be the wake up call so I have little hope
December 17th, 2025 at 9:21 am
No worries !! Panthers not gonna beat the Seahawks so the Bucs can loaf for the next two weeks and lose – just beat the Panthers by one point at home and that will justify extending Bowles and Licht another 5 years
December 17th, 2025 at 9:33 am
RONDE BARBER
4
The next GM
Need new energy in OBP !
December 17th, 2025 at 9:38 am
Honestly, I’m having a hard time getting my hopes up for this game. Maybe with our best receivers and Bucky back we can score a few points. That defense looks hopeless.
December 17th, 2025 at 9:39 am
Fire Todd
December 17th, 2025 at 9:44 am
Probably won’t win another game. Radio will finally be show. The door. Maybe get one from Carolina maybe
December 17th, 2025 at 9:44 am
Clean house!
Only making it into the NFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Could save the Front Office on down
That AIN’T Happening!!!
.
Ronde Barber
The next GM !
Ban the Pukesicle uniforms!
December 17th, 2025 at 9:46 am
Keeping optimistic! We have three games. We only need to win two. And two of the games are the Panthers. We need to win them at least once, but it would be great to win all three games.
SB~LV – I really like Ronde, but not as GM. And Jason is still our GM. They could let Todd go and keep Jason for longer under a new coach. Sort of like McKay with Dungy and Gruden. If it were to happen, Derrick Brooks would be a great choice as GM.
December 17th, 2025 at 9:52 am
Might have to score 35-40 points. I’m still shell shocked by this pass defense.
December 17th, 2025 at 9:52 am
I have no faith in Bowles at all, hoping Baker and gang can make it happen. Imo the offense is on their own for this.
December 17th, 2025 at 9:53 am
“”When you can’t adjust the pass defense in SEVEN seasons it’s on coaching, the combination of players changes but the constant is ALWAYS Todd and his passive scheme.””
FACT.
December 17th, 2025 at 9:58 am
Toilet Bowles couldn’t find the right buttons to push on a blow up doll
December 17th, 2025 at 9:58 am
Joe your last sentence say’s all that need’s to be said since the bye week. Show Some Freaking Pride. Could say a whole lot more but what’s the point. I’ve about checked out because it has been infuriating, embarrassing and disgusting to watch their play. If you play well and lose the game, well that happens. But not this. Pride should be there in every game. I will take Brady’s demeaner every single day and demanding excellence because he demands it of himself, FIRST. That’s why he can jump other people cause they see his work ethic. He is the foremost example of someone who didn’t have the exceptional natural tools and became great because of PRIDE in Himself. That is looking in the mirror.
December 17th, 2025 at 9:59 am
some not all on this team will do the minimum and thats it. including coaches. see the results of this and the previous 2 seasons……
10-7 last year looks was better than the finish was. it was down to the wire and dependent on other teams winning or losing just to make the playoffs.
too many look at winning the south last year at 10-7 as some sort of accomplishment. it was just a preview of this season.
same mentality. passive and weak minded.
December 17th, 2025 at 10:00 am
“The Tampa Toddloaf defense” i don’t think it’s as good as the Tampa 2 was. It’s fun watching players just stand there watching the qb as the receiver runs right by. We seem to lose the chess match every week. Fire over confident mistake prone clueless opposing qb loving Bowles! Immediately.
December 17th, 2025 at 10:05 am
We beat some of the best teams with half our stars hurt.
We barely lost to some of the best teams in the NFL with our stars hurt.
You negative Nancie’s are mentally soft.
I still think our best football is ahead of us.
We just Deion Jones and Tykee to play dime LB.
And we need to pull LVD on some obvious passing downs.
And we need to get a beast like Chukwuma on the field!
We have the best WR quartet I’ve ever seen.
We just need Wirfs at LG so we can run the ball and pass the ball!
December 17th, 2025 at 10:06 am
BA shares some of this stink !
Byron Leftwich
Todd Bowels and who knows whatever influence behind the scenes.
I am already in 2026 FA,draft and training camp.
My only wish for the balance of this season is that nobody suffers serious injury!
December 17th, 2025 at 10:06 am
folks keep saying we “only” need to win 2….thats BS!!!!!!!
mathematically yes, but for heaven’s sake the way this team has been playing they need to win out to regain confidence in themselves and trust in each other….
im hoping JPP snapped reddick and winfield around in front of everyone in the locker room and im hoping ME13 told baker and grizz to get their sh!t together…
with that said, unfortunately i dont think we win another game….and im one of the biggest BUCS fans in 813 lol
Panthers have played with a more sense of urgency and they dont seem “bored”….
Tua will live up to his contract vs the BUCS and play his best game of the season along with Waddle and Walker
Canales will close us out and head to the playoffs with Bryce…
GO BUCS!!!!
December 17th, 2025 at 10:13 am
There is absolutely no reason the players should take what Bowles said seriously. If you aren’t calling out these old decrepit coaches he decided to hire or incompetent coaches like your special teams coach why should they care?
December 17th, 2025 at 10:14 am
As a Bucs Fan since 1998, I say just give it to Carolina. This coaching makes me want to quit. This is how I feel as a fan, I can’t even imagine how the players feel! Can we not unchain ourselves from this ongoing mediocre leadership!?
December 17th, 2025 at 10:20 am
Fire Bowles. A terrible coach.
December 17th, 2025 at 10:32 am
These fake fans make me so mad. Have some faith in your damn team. Baker and the Bucs will beat the panthers 34-17 and the defense will do better. ME goes off for 200 yards and buka gets 100 more and a touchdown
December 17th, 2025 at 10:32 am
Judson has been released by the Dolphins. We should pick him up
December 17th, 2025 at 10:37 am
This team is HOPELESS !!! Can we draft for a Head Coach ???
December 17th, 2025 at 10:38 am
😂😂😂😂
Tez I can relate to your enthusiasm… I was like that once going back to ass in the stands for the first home game win against the St Louis Cardinals
The NFL is a cold hard reality and the better talent almost always win, it’s rare for a college momentum flip in the NFL… the better talent and coaching will grind to spirit from the lesser talent.
December 17th, 2025 at 10:38 am
Good fortune? Lol that’s funny Todd has got to point of telling his players they are lazy it’s there fault and he can’t do nothing about it not to just the locker room but to the world and you think he bringing that back around lol that’s pretty funny too cya Todd.
December 17th, 2025 at 10:40 am
He also told them they have no heart forgot about that one oof cya todd
December 17th, 2025 at 10:42 am
Toad Bowels has no pulse.
He has given up on the team, fans, and ownership.
Just collecting a paycheck and expanding at a geometric rate.
Time to cut loose of the drift wood.
35-34
December 17th, 2025 at 10:44 am
Players know that they will be playing somewhere next year
Bowels not so much
Especially since he has said that he’s done with the NFL after this gig ..
December 17th, 2025 at 10:46 am
Not that it means anything but technically we could get in w winning just one ,, a split w Carolina and a Carolina loss to Seattle ,,, talk about backing into the playoffs ,,, would be up 1 in common opponents (3rd tiebreaker )
December 17th, 2025 at 10:47 am
@Tez
You mean fake leadership. What we have is a group of participants collecting paychecks. Meanwhile us fans are out there in the stadium getting embarrassed. Name any NFL team who is scared of the Bucs? Yet our mascot is supposed to be Captain Fear. We don’t even put up a good fight when it counts the most. The team is supposed to be the face of the city, and represent all hard working people here that spend good money on merchandise and pour their hearts out on game day to support our players… yet our leadership is holding us back from greatness. Enough is enough, for our future, please cut the dead weight. Let our team evolve and prosper again. Fire Bowls.
December 17th, 2025 at 10:47 am
Whoa whoa. This is still the same team that beat Seattle, San Fran and had a chance vs Philly.
The coaching and execution went to sleep and here we are. We aren’t good right now but this roster being good enough to match up with the top of the NFC isn’t some dream reality.
Coaches and players were 5-1 and forgot what it takes.
I have no idea what to expect next 3 weeks. I suspect the Panthers win one but hopefully this 10 day break got guys to snap out of the funk. If they don’t, Bowles run is over.
December 17th, 2025 at 10:48 am
I love how people root for other teams to lose and cheer when backups are in against the bucs. Let’s just downplay and forget that this team pissed everything away by crapping all over the field the last 2 months. And Quinn Ewers will go off when they play Miami.
December 17th, 2025 at 10:48 am
I’m concerned the Saints victory last Sun, allows these players to let up. They already don’t have a killer instinct, now they realize that they can win ONE against the Panthers AND beat the Dolphins and still win the division VS going out trying to monkey stomp their opponent 1 Sunday at a time for the next 6 Sundays (or Sat) means they’ll let up. AND that will spell trouble.
My take is that the team that wins THIS Sun, will win the division. The Bucs need to win the last 3 going into the playoffs. Or just lose the last 3 for draft positioning.
December 17th, 2025 at 10:50 am
@joe The question is if Nelson didn’t come up with that miracle fumble last year and we didn’t make the playoffs, would Bowels still be our coach today?
December 17th, 2025 at 10:51 am
Time for another article so we can all say the same thing over again
😂
December 17th, 2025 at 10:57 am
I thought we had a team of character players. Character players don’t play like the Bucs have played since the bye. Time to call out the losers by name, not generalizations.
December 17th, 2025 at 11:08 am
“This has been one of the strangest seasons.”
Agree. Not just for us but the whole NFL. Very few teams playing consistently well and there is tons of parity.
December 17th, 2025 at 11:40 am
I’m sad. The Chiefs are nit in the Superbowl this year. 🥲😭
December 17th, 2025 at 11:41 am
“Very few teams playing consistently well and there is tons of parity”
I believe this to be along the lines of what TB12 said. They are not teaching the game as in depth as they used to. We rarely see a QB today take their time at the line and diagnose what the defense is going to do. I mean look at what they are saying about Phillip Rivers this past sunday. He is snapping the ball with ~2 seconds left. People are not used to it anymore. The closest I can see being like that is Drake Maye and thats because Josh McDaniels scheme expects him to be that first.
December 17th, 2025 at 11:41 am
When you see , pre snap, your defense isn’t in proper spots… call a time out. Vildor was in press coverage. Stevie wonder could see where the ball was going.
December 17th, 2025 at 11:42 am
I see that there still some delusional characters like Teacher man acting like we (the approximately 85% of of us see the actual world) are mentally soft that spews out that all we need is to do is make 4-5 changes in the lineup and all will be golden.
If he would take his rose colored glasses he would see that the chance this coach will make these changes is zero. This offense and defense is so locked into this wonderful scheme of Bowels that new arrivals and new lineups at this time would be disruptive.
The trouble is that Bowels is here 7 years and his schemes never has worked over the course of a year. Never adjustment at halftime. We just have to execute better. Bowles’ schemes are locked into this club. They don’t change and teams get wise to them half way through each season.
WE may make the playoffs but it won’t be Todd Bowles who pulls out out of this tailspin. It will be the offense.