Todd Bowles has spent three seasons doing things no Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach before him could manage, and yet the past 15 games have shoved him into uncomfortable company.
The Bucs’ current slide has dropped Bowles behind the worst stretches of Raheem Morris, Greg Schiano, Dirk Koetter and the version of Lovie Smith who finished in Tampa. Bowles has won the NFC South three times, more than those four coaches combined, but the last 15 games have told a much rougher story: Tampa Bay has won only three.
That reality is hard to ignore with the Buccaneers headed into a matchup against the first-place Carolina Panthers this week. Carolina is 3-2 and, as things stand, looks like the only NFC South team playing clean football. The Panthers are also the team that took the division from Tampa Bay less than 10 months ago.
The standings don’t make the Bucs look much prettier. Tampa sits at 1-5 and last in the division, though the Falcons and Saints are both 2-4, leaving the Bucs only one game behind second place. Still, the weakness around them doesn’t fully hide how far this team has fallen, not just this season but in the back half of last year as well.
There was a time when this looked like a different season entirely. The 2025 Bucs were 6-2, and winning the NFC South felt like the floor, not the ceiling. At that point, they looked like a team capable of a Super Bowl run.
The quarterback situation explains part of the decline, but not all of it. Tampa Bay has played half its season without Baker Mayfield after he dislocated his thumb against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 3. Even so, the Bucs were 0-3 in games Mayfield started, which makes it clear the problems go beyond one injury.
Luck has not exactly shown up for Tampa, either. Each of the Bucs’ last 12 games has been decided by one possession, and ESPN says that’s the longest active streak in the league and the second-longest in NFL history.
The numbers only get more ominous from there. Tampa is three games shy of matching the 1989-1990 San Diego Chargers for the longest losing streak in NFL history at 14 games.
There is at least one old example the Bucs can point to if they’re searching for hope. The 1992 Chargers are the only team to reach the playoffs after starting 0-4, and Tampa will be trying to keep that door from shutting on its season.
In Other News...
Baker Mayfield Carries One Huge Buccaneers Question Into Panthers Game
Baker Mayfield has carried the Buccaneers through the first part of the season with the kind of toughness Tampa Bay has come to expect, and now he heads into Week 7 with a little extra attention on his right hand. Officially listed as questionable against Carolina, Mayfield was a full participant in practice all week after dislocating his thumb in Week 3, leaving the team to sort through the usual pregame injury-report suspense around its quarterback.
Todd Bowles said Mayfield looks ready to play, which is the key development for a Buccaneers offense that also has to navigate the absence of top receiver Emeka Egbuka, who has been ruled out with a concussion. Mayfield is expected to wear a custom glove on the injured hand, a small but notable detail for a team that would rather keep the conversation centered on the game plan than on what its quarterback is wearing when he takes the field. [Read more 🡒]
Bucs Face A Season Pressure Game In Carolina Shorthanded
Sundays trip to Bank of America Stadium carries a little extra weight for Tampa Bay, and it comes with a depleted roster on both sides. The Buccaneers head to Carolina on Oct. 25 with several players unavailable, adding another layer of difficulty to a division matchup that already has plenty riding on it. Fans who want to follow along can catch the game locally on FOX, with streaming options on NFL+ and NFL Sunday Ticket, while radio coverage is set for WXTB 97.9 FM and SiriusXM Channel 380.
The injury list is the bigger story for Tampa Bay, though, because it trims away some of the teams margin for error at a time when every AFC South-style slip in the division feels magnified. Carolina has its own absences to manage, but the Buccaneers challenge is figuring out how to get through a road game without some key pieces available, and how much it can still demand from a shorthanded group in a matchup that could shape the tone of the stretch ahead. [Read more 🡒]
Bucs Get The Weather Break They Needed In Carolina
A much-needed break is waiting for Tampa Bay in Charlotte, where the Buccaneers are set to play the Panthers under sunny skies and mild temperatures around 65 to 70 degrees. After dealing with some less cooperative conditions in recent weeks, the setting at Bank of America Stadium should be about as clean as it gets for an offense trying to get back on track, with no rain expected and only a moderate breeze in the forecast.
The wind, listed around 10 mph with gusts up to 20 mph, should not force any real changes to Tampa Bay's game plan, especially with Baker Mayfield on track to return after missing three games because of a thumb injury. It could still be enough to add a little difficulty on the edges of the operation, particularly for the kicking game and for any longer punts, but the bigger picture is simple: the Buccaneers should be able to lean on their passing attack without the weather getting in the way. [Read more 🡒]