Locker Room Reactions From Todd Bowles, Baker Mayfield
September 14th, 2026
Rejects Week 1 analysis.
What guys say at a news conference and what they’ll say in the locker room are often different takes.
Joe was in the losing locker room yesterday in Cincinnati, and so was Buccaneers Radio Network sideline reporter Jay Recher.
Recher talked to Baker Mayfield on-air about what caused the Bucs’ four turnovers.
“Just little fundamentals in critical moments. You know, two hands on the ball in the pocket, and then trying to extend plays,” Mayfield said. “You know, down in the red zone, the one that [I] fumbled right by the goal line, just was trying to get two hands on it but the ball was too low. So the intention to secure the ball was there, [the ball] just wasn’t in the right place. Can’t do that. This loss is on me.
“Just gotta hold on to football. We moved it so well today, you know, pass game [and] run game. I think special teams played really well. I know [the Bengals] had at least 17 points off turnovers, if not more. We can’t put our defense in that position. And that’s on me, it’s on the offense.”
Recher also checked in with Todd Bowles. The head coach was down on sloppy play.
“We got a lot of things to clean up on both sides of the ball,” Bowles said. “I thought special teams played well. Offensively, obviously the turnovers that hurt us, and then defensively, we gotta make some tackles in the open field. I thought we missed some easy tackles just from an angle standpoint and we gotta get that cleaned up.”
Bowles rejected a premise in a follow-up Recher question that noted turnovers can happen in Week 1 because starters get little preseason action and timing can be off.
“Gotta be careful with the football. There’s no timing or anything involved,” Bowles said.
“We practice turnover, circuits and drills every day — of protecting the ball and taking the ball away. We gotta protect the ball better.”
September 14th, 2026 at 2:51 pm
I wonder if Danny Smith thinks effort can’t be coached.
September 14th, 2026 at 2:52 pm
“I thought we missed some easy tackles just from an angle standpoint and we gotta get that cleaned up.” – Turd Bowels
What in God’s name is he blathering about???
From an angle standpoint??? How about from a non existent standpoint!!!
This guy sucks out loud at both his jobs. We’re toast.
September 14th, 2026 at 2:57 pm
UGLY
DL/OLB – Robinson was good. The rest were garbage. Kancey is a joke.
Baker – If W/L is a game of turnovers, Baker lost the game.
OL – Is Wirfs washed? Something to keep an eye on.
Zyon and Morrion
They went against the best WR duo in the league and held their own. Zyon talked trash in the media. He backed it up.
Trotter
Game ball. Bucs MVP after game 1. Good sign.
September 14th, 2026 at 2:57 pm
I know it’s only the first game of the young season
But players need to be evaluated on a weekly basis
And if they’re not performing up to par
They need to be benched , plain and simple
It shouldn’t matter how much money they make
If they stinks, then they need to be replaced
We’ll see how things go next week
September 14th, 2026 at 3:03 pm
Anyone blaming Todd for this loss is delusional. We held a high powered offense below their standardin . Held Jamar to his 2nd worst game as a pro. We fumbled FOUR times. NONE of the fumbles fall on Bowles. I’m going to say the quiet part out loud, a lot of this Todd Bowles hate is rooted in Racism (whether you realize it or not). Not everyone, but A LOT!
Joe typically deletes any racism chatter because it spirals out of control but will allow it this time, though comments here eventually are likely to be closed. To address your points, EVERYTHING collectively falls on the head coach, whomever that coach may be. Fumbling is often a byproduct of how seriously protecting the ball is taken in practice, not an individual fumble but a team’s propensity for fumbling. Same goes for presnap penalties or success in various areas. … Joe had a thoughtful conversation with someone at One Buc Palace about a very similar racism charge against fans. At the end of the day, the guy who had studied this estimated a 5 percent maximum of Bucs fans that don’t like Bowles have their reason rooted in racism. Whatever the number is — 5% or less than 1% — Joe thinks it’s very irresponsible to claim it’s “A LOT.” –Joe
September 14th, 2026 at 3:03 pm
Y’all hating on Baker can chill: “The intention to hold onto the ball was there.” I’m pretty sure he meant that regarding all three fumbles.
See? It’s all good. We can watch him carry the ball like it’s a live squirrel trying to escape without anxiety. What a riot!
September 14th, 2026 at 3:04 pm
Seems like this team had the talent to beat the Bengals but coaching let us down once again. Feels familiar
September 14th, 2026 at 3:05 pm
If Baker goes into this game based on emotions because the Brownies let him go, we will see why they let him go. Can’t be the hero all the time, you got playmakers- let them make plays
September 14th, 2026 at 3:08 pm
Heaping stinky pile of BS!
Folks in December of
2024
Astute fans were calling for TB to go and
Liam Coen signed as head coach!
and then last season…
Bring out the parking spot name painters at OBP !
September 14th, 2026 at 3:09 pm
@rrsrq
Great point. This is why I did not want Baker resigned until he proved he was worth it.
Now he has his bag but he’s the same guy he’s always been and likely always will be.
If this is what $165 million buys you, we might be in deep dog doo-doo.
September 14th, 2026 at 3:09 pm
So much negativity. The Bengals are a good team with Super Bowl aspirations. We lost the turnover battle but the game could have gone either way.
September 14th, 2026 at 3:10 pm
And am I the only one who when they paid Baker, thought “good, we locked him in” AND “Man I hope he still plays with that extra motivation/chip on his shoulder”. I know it’s all hypothetical, but I almost wanted to see him play the year with “something to prove/gain”.
September 14th, 2026 at 3:10 pm
Baker has 35 fumbles in NFL as a QB in 52 games played. Highest in NFL for QBs in that time.
Bowles D been on decline.
2023 Season: The Bucs allowed just 19.1 points per game, which ranked 7th in the NFL.
2024 Season: 22.6 PPG (ranking 16th).
2025 Season: Plummeted to 24.2 PPG, ranking a miserable 20th in the NFL.
They can say what they want Baker is a turnover machine and Bowles defense has gotten worse….
“We got to coach better and play better”
“3rd & 28”
Cooper Kupp’s legendary 44-yard reception that ended Bradys last year amd our playoff run.
September 14th, 2026 at 3:12 pm
The 4 lining up offsides penalties by the Bengals help a lot. Do not expect that every week.
September 14th, 2026 at 3:12 pm
@muscle, Bowles had little to do with this loss. He didn’t fumble the ball 4 times. I’ve been one of his biggest critics and wanted him fired after last season but this is mostly on Baker. And thank you to Baker for being a man and shouldering the loss, now hang on to the f’ng pig skin and right the ship.
September 14th, 2026 at 3:15 pm
Fyi wirfs has been bad last year and hes been subpar again. Goedke bad Winfield bad
September 14th, 2026 at 3:16 pm
“You know, down in the red zone, the one that [I] fumbled right by the goal line, just was trying to get two hands on it but the ball was too low. So the intention to secure the ball was there, [the ball] just wasn’t in the right place. Can’t do that. This loss is on me.”
Maybe get down and slide, live to play another down like a smart QB. Nobody cares about how tough you are at 31 yrs old. Talking bout get two hands on the ball, how’s about getting rid of the ball, knowing your down & distance. Last thing any teams wants in the redzone is a turnover that turns to a touchback because you wanted to be Rudy.
“I know [the Bengals] had at least 17 points off turnovers, if not more. We can’t put our defense in that position. And that’s on me, it’s on the offense.”
No Baker, they scored 21 points off those first 3 straight drives that ended in 3 fumbles. That 21 points was 1 more point scored than you and the offense generated on the other 5 drives you didn’t cough the ball up. 4 of 9 drives ending in turnovers is trash.
Josiah Trotter caught more passes for scores than any of our skill players and he plays defense.
September 14th, 2026 at 3:18 pm
Every team in NFCS lost, so this game doesn’t hurt too much IF the play gets better.
September 14th, 2026 at 3:19 pm
“See? It’s all good. We can watch him carry the ball like it’s a live squirrel trying to escape without anxiety. What a riot!”
This is basically the prayer in the lottery line at the gas station, lol “I have intentions of hitting this powerball jackpot tonight”
September 14th, 2026 at 3:19 pm
Watch out for the Saints
September 14th, 2026 at 3:23 pm
Just hold onto the damn ball $165 million dollar man.
September 14th, 2026 at 3:25 pm
Tony 1775says it all BEST . that’s the track record…..
September 14th, 2026 at 3:26 pm
Despite the many mistakes, I’m more optimistic after the game than I was before.
B-Mo and Zyon put in excellent performances against elite wide receivers. Trotter was spectacular, and Ted Hurst showed huge potential.
Another significant step forward came from special teams, which delivered a very solid, error-free performance.
The offensive line was clearly rusty, but we know the quality of the players; they’ll find their rhythm in a few weeks.
What was truly concerning was Alex Anzalone’s performance—he looked completely washed up; let’s see if he can bounce back as the season progresses.
September 14th, 2026 at 3:30 pm
BROWNS STICKING WITH DESHAUN WATSON AS STARTING QB FOR WEEK 2 GAME VS. BUCCANEERS
ok so maybe we can win one
September 14th, 2026 at 3:31 pm
DESHAUN WATSON …will have a career day!
September 14th, 2026 at 3:31 pm
Bad angles has got to be Anzalone.
I saw him miss 3 tackles from that.
Trotter should win Defensive player of the week for that sack and pick six with 10 tackles geez.
And we were worried about Trotter. Anzalone looks old.
Time to re-evaluate the deepest position on the team there Todd.
September 14th, 2026 at 3:32 pm
$165 million for a turnover machine
I’m a life long Bucs fan, since the beginning
The Glazers use to pitch pennies at their pro bowl players
Now they’re breaking the bank for these trash players
Garbage players Licht found while dumpster diving for scraps
How times have changed
September 14th, 2026 at 3:35 pm
2-8 in their last 10 games
That’s on the Head Coach and QB
September 14th, 2026 at 3:35 pm
True franchise QBs don’t lose 4 games in a row like Baker does every year
September 14th, 2026 at 3:43 pm
Wirfs, and the rest seemed bad, because we’ve been led to believe they’re great. They are not. Whole roster is average at best. When you realize this, you won’t be disappointed. Licht has been made out to be a drafting god, starting with his overrated O line. All high picks, all highly paid, all average at best. Wirfs was great, was, now he’s fat paid, and happy. I guess the players will need listereen to get that bad taste from last season out of their mouths since they couldn’t do it on the field. This I organization from top down, talks to mich, plays to little.
September 14th, 2026 at 3:51 pm
Wirfs has fallen off a cliff
September 14th, 2026 at 3:53 pm
Eating L’s with Todd Says:
September 14th, 2026 at 3:35 pm
“2-8 in their last 10 games
That’s on the Head Coach and QB”
Correct! That’s a .200 win percentage. That’s worse than Todd’s playoff win percentage of .333.
September 14th, 2026 at 3:54 pm
OMG… so tired hearing “gotta get that cleaned up.” I haven’t been on the fire Bowles band wagon but I might start looking for a seat. I’m out of state and I get PO’d at dropping over $500 for Sunday Ticket to watch an ill prepared team. I can’t imagine how you folks buying home game tickets feel. It just seems like there is not a lot of accountability st any level. Anyway, that’s my vent session. Next Sunday I’ll be tuned in just like always but scootch over on that bandwagon just in case.
September 14th, 2026 at 3:54 pm
Also, great handle!
Eating L’s with Todd is very on point.
September 14th, 2026 at 3:55 pm
Maybe…just maybe….play some F%^ing football before mid-September might help.
September 14th, 2026 at 3:58 pm
Racism has absolutely nada to do with the partial blame on Bowles…. this team, his defense is a byproduct of his style of coaching which obviously isn’t working to match the so called talent on this squad… we are mediocre at best and have been for his tenure…. I don’t give 2 craps what color you are…good coaching increases the improvement of a team and we have none….
September 14th, 2026 at 4:01 pm
2nd fumble wasn’t on Wirfs tho bake had 5 secs to throw but overall Wirfs hasn’t been good for some time seems speed rushers go around him
September 14th, 2026 at 4:01 pm
Someone call Donovan smith lol
September 14th, 2026 at 4:05 pm
a true litmus test for this team is this weekend….playing a bad team with problems… a team we should bury at home…afraid that we’ll play down to Cleveland and average players will explode against us and have career days…thats pretty much been the norm the last few years….
September 14th, 2026 at 4:13 pm
Stands will be empty till it’s Packers day. Than it will be filled with Packer fans. Who’s going to sit in September heat to watch this team slop around? Maybe when the Glazers see the empty seats they’ll reevaluate their decision to retain Bowles. NFL did not do the Bucs a favor with September 1pm games. Hard enough to fill seats with him as HC, impossible in 100 plus temps.
September 14th, 2026 at 4:16 pm
First game of the season is always on the coaches, you get to see who was prepared and who wasn’t. This one is on Todd.
September 14th, 2026 at 4:23 pm
How many times has Todd Bowles or the staff made Baker go through fumble drills this offseason? If the anwser is close to zero, then who is to blame? still baker or do the coaches get blame for not preparing the team to improve the teams weaknesses from years past.
September 14th, 2026 at 4:34 pm
Joe has a tough time with comments. But there are,a lot of mean comments on this board I took exception to an anti Irish American slur and handled it myself. I have two half irish red headed sons. Thanks Joe for handling the inappropriate comment above about Bowles.. As for fumbling the Browns did it twice yesterday then rolled over and gave up. Bakers fumbles hurt obviously but he clawed back and made a tie at the end possible. I like how Baker indicated the two hands rule but also realized he had to just throw it away after 3.5 seconds. I hope Mr. Robinson works on that.
September 14th, 2026 at 4:34 pm
The Browns should be a gimme Watson is suppose to start Sunday if he don’t get arrested at Mons Venus Saturday night.
September 14th, 2026 at 4:38 pm
If there are unsold tix Tell the,Bucs ticket manager to donate them to Veterans directly as the Rays do or through vetttix.com.
September 14th, 2026 at 4:43 pm
There’s no real reason to interview Toad. You basically hear a version of the same thing every week. Mr. Milquetoast.
September 14th, 2026 at 4:53 pm
Special teams played well bc the coaching is better. Bowles has been trying to clean up the defense for 3 years now. Coaching!
No matter what, unless Bowles’ defense balls out every week, his seat will continue to get warmer. Fans are pissed he is still here and it wont change perspectives unless big steps are taken in the w column
September 14th, 2026 at 4:55 pm
If baker makes those last 4 yards into the end zone, it’s a totally different game. I see no one criticizing the last td , nearly same run into the end zone. His ability to run hard is an asset. Three fumbles is an outlier, plain and simple . Burrow throwing with ease on their last possession, defensive giving up way too many 3rd and longs , is more concerning.
September 14th, 2026 at 4:57 pm
Sick of Mayfield trying to do too much and then giving the game away. StripSix – 7 points. strip in the pocket, 7 points, strip down by the goal line was at least a 6 point swing and probably a 10 point swing. So Mayfield’s poor ball control cost the Bucs anywhere from 20 – 24 points. That is simply outrageous! Take the sack, step up in the pocket and throw the ball away, slide and take 1st and goal. I realize this comes off as a bit of Monday morning QBing, but this was more than one play. It is a pattern. Robinson needs to tell him stop playing hero ball and live to have another down. And if he continues to do it, put in the backup until he learns the lesson.
September 14th, 2026 at 4:58 pm
And I see the gomers continuing today with the “Wirfs is awful” rhetoric when he played fine…..
Geez I’m sorry Wirfs didn’t hold his block for more than the 4+ seconds that Baker had on those 2 sack/fumbles from behind…
People need to get edumacated 😬😜!!
September 14th, 2026 at 5:05 pm
This is a .500 football team accept that and y’all won’t be so mad all the time.
September 14th, 2026 at 5:07 pm
This reminds me of Peyton Manning talking about how Tony Dungy had to convince him that punting wasn’t always a bad play. Peyton was so wired to make something happen that he hated giving the ball back. Dungy taught him that sometimes the smart play is to live for another possession and trust your defense.
Pretty cool lesson in knowing when not to force it. I hope the Bucs/Bowles get ahold of Dungy and Manning and have them pass along this advice to Baker. Knowing when to be aggressive is just as important as knowing when to live for another down.
September 14th, 2026 at 5:12 pm
Remember when bowls was good? Yeah, me either.
September 14th, 2026 at 5:13 pm
Yesterday Baker was baking his favorite pastry, football turnovers.
September 14th, 2026 at 5:15 pm
Lakeland … ‘players need to be evaluated on a weekly basis. And if they’re not performing up to par They need to be benched, plain and simple. It shouldn’t matter how much money they make. If they stinks, then they need to be replaced.’
I’m gonna assume that 3 fumbles costing us the game qualifies as ‘not performing up to par’. Thus Baker should be benched? And how about Wirfs? He didn’t look good at all out there yesterday. Should we bench him too and replace him with Skule?
And on the defensive side, Anzalone was slipping & sliding all over the place, and missing tackles. I assume we should bench him too & replace him with who, SVD? Come to think of it, I wasn’t enamored with Vea’s play either yesterday. Should we sit him down too & maybe give RNR some more snaps as the primary NT?
The unfortunate reality of today’s NFL is that players making mega-millions of dollars will be given mega chances to succeed (or fail). Like it or not, they probably do give us the best chance to win (once they get their act together?).
September 14th, 2026 at 5:19 pm
Bucs could have outpointed the Bengals had it not been for Bakers 3 key turnovers, Get it together Bake.
September 14th, 2026 at 5:20 pm
Look at Bowles’ comments after any of his dozens of losses – he says some version of the same thing. But the problems are NEVER corrected.
September 14th, 2026 at 5:28 pm
I have been saying this for years
There’s so much imaginary talent on this team
Only the Bucs fans see this talent
I’ve been forcing myself to be more pessimistic about this team
But, now l have to face reality, and call it as l see it
It’s not a bad thing to lose games, somebody has to lose
You cannot and will not win them all
But, you should never beat yourself, and give a game away
And that’s exactly what we did yesterday
That’s unacceptable
The Bucs high paid veterans should especially be ashamed of themselves
They should apologize to the fans, the owners, and their families
That’s how awful they were
The 21-25 year old guys outplayed them
And that’s a dang shame, it’s disgraceful
September 14th, 2026 at 5:31 pm
***I’ve been forcing myself to be more optimistic about this team***
September 14th, 2026 at 5:37 pm
Defense Rules
An NFL Head Coach has to make difficult decisions
And benching high paid veterans is a difficult decision to make
But, if that player don’t improve his play, he need to be benched
Give them the 3 game rule, if they have 3 consecutive bad games
It’s time to sit them, regardless of their past status
September 14th, 2026 at 5:42 pm
Once the detailed game stats came out, I noticed something that Todd Bowles did yesterday with the defense that absolutely blows my mind. And it explains to me why we had NO PASS RUSH.
The answer lies in the defensive snaps. Bucs’ defense had 64 def snaps total (that was 100%).
o DLine: A 3-man DLine SHOULD have had 192 def snaps total (if we played a 3-man front all game long). We didn’t; not even close. Bucs NTs & DLs only had 148 def snaps, so only on about one-third of the def plays did we use a 3-man front.
o OLBs: our 2 OLBs SHOULD have logged 128 def snaps total (if BOTH OLB position were manned all game long). In fact that’s almost exactly what happened; Nelson, Diaby, Muhammad & Bain together logged 130 def snaps.
o ILBs: our 2 ILBs SHOULD have logged 128 def snaps total also (if BOTH ILB position were manned all game long). In fact that’s what happened; Anzalone, Trotter & SVD together logged 127 def snaps.
So if we only went with 2 DLine on about one-third of the plays, who took their other 44 plays? Just look at the Secondary … Scott. He logged 47 plays. Our other CBs logged 126 def snaps (only 2 shy of the 128 that 2 CBs SHOULD have gotten). Our Safeties logged 126 def snaps also (only 2 shy of the 128 that 2 Safeties SHOULD have gotten also).
The position group that paid the price for our Nickel (Scott) being on the field so much was our DEFENSIVE LINE. And lo-and-behold our pass rush sucked. Instead of turning the dogs loose, Todd shackled them to the bench. Beef is worthless if it’s sitting on the bench.
September 14th, 2026 at 5:42 pm
I’ve cooled off a little since yesterday. Got me to thinking, the fact that we were even somewhat in the game after turning the ball over 4 times does say a lot. And especially since one resulted in an automatic TD, and the other resulting in a free trip to the red zone, it is incredibly shocking we didn’t lose by 21 or more. Also, we did a good job of limiting Chase and Higgins.
We just struggled to stop the short passing game, contain their running game, and we had quite a few missed tackles that resulted in huge gains after first contact. Those things worry me a bit.
We gotta realize that some is stuff should be pretty rare to happen regularly, and probably not going to happen every week. Maybe it was just us working out the kinks in week 1.
I’m just worried that if the o-line plays consistently bad, and the short coverage continues to stink, along with the missed tackles, as well as a terrible pass rush, this could be a long season. Sonny Styles looked pretty good yesterday, while Bain looked like a fraud.
Either way, week 2 is a must win. GO BUCS!!!
P.S. STFU, BUCBOI, and call out everything stupid that happened in the game, and not just the stupid mistakes Baker made. Yeah, it would’ve been nice to have just one of those fumbles back, but we’re not gonna have that many turnovers every week. You better hope he plays bad this week, cause we know you won’t blame anything else but him if we lose. I don’t think Baker is by any means a top 10 QB right now, but he’s the best we could do at this point until someone else comes along. And if we make the playoffs, he’s probably gonna remain the starter, so get used to it.
September 14th, 2026 at 5:52 pm
Lakeland … ‘Give them the 3 game rule, if they have 3 consecutive bad games It’s time to sit them, regardless of their past status’.
You know I was teasing right? Yes, if a high-priced player sucks for multiple games in a row, I wouldn’t be reluctant to sit his a$$ on the bench. If he’s hurting the team and costing us victories, continuing to play him is counter-productive to the rest of the team.
But a coach better know that doing so is very likely to sink the whole season. Let’s say that last year Bowles had benched Mayfield and inserted Bridgewater. And that we lost every game after that decision. I seriously doubt that he’d be here today. His problem last season was that he had no viable options when it came to backup QB.