The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are 0-2, and the loss that really stings is the 23-19 setback to the Cleveland Browns. That result landed hard because Cleveland came in with a terrible roster and had just been blown out 34-10 by former Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen’s Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 1.
Put those two Browns results side by side, and the contrast only sharpens the frustration around Tampa Bay’s decision to keep Todd Bowles instead of moving on from him and hiring Coen. Baker Mayfield and Coen were clearly working at a higher level, while Bowles has been unable to get much of anything clicking. The source of the issue goes beyond this season, too: Bowles once failed to deliver a winning season with Tom Brady, something that had been described as literally impossible before he arrived.
The fallout has been building for a while. Bowles has made life miserable around Tampa since last season, and after being the architect of the team’s collapse in 2025, Mike Evans reportedly left the Buccaneers for the San Francisco 49ers because he did not want to deal with Bowles coaching him anymore. In that telling, Bowles has already cost Tampa Bay Liam Coen, Mike Evans, and dignity.
The biggest problem, though, is what has happened on defense. The Glazers could have fired Bowles this past offseason, and after the way the Buccaneers played in the second half of 2025, that move would have been fully justified. Instead, Tampa fired its entire staff except Bowles, a decision framed as a strange and hard-to-explain show of loyalty to a coach known for a long track record of mediocrity.
Bowles is supposed to be a defensive specialist, but two of the team’s best defenders have looked lost. Antoine Winfield Jr. and Vita Vea are the names that jump out most.
Winfield should be one of the NFL’s elite safeties, and Vea should be one of the league’s top defensive tackles, but both have been dreadful over the first two weeks. The Buccaneers have already given up 33 points to the Cincinnati Bengals and then somehow made Deshaun Watson look like a competent quarterback.
Winfield’s struggles didn’t start this year, either. He was poor last season as well, stuck in a scheme that left him cleaning up everyone else’s mistakes instead of making plays of his own.
Vea was caught in the same trap, and now the Buccaneers are paying him elite money to serve as little more than a glorified bodyguard who makes no real impact. For Tampa Bay, that’s the ugly result of putting key defenders in a system that doesn’t let them do what they do best.
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Baker Mayfields start to the 2026 season has already given the Buccaneers plenty to sort through, with the quarterback off to a rocky two-game stretch that has included limited production and too many turnovers. Tampa Bay has leaned on him to steady the offense, but the early returns have made every practice report and injury update around him carry a little extra weight as the Week 3 matchup with the Vikings approaches.
Mayfield added another layer of uncertainty this week when he missed his scheduled press conference because of an undisclosed illness, even though he was able to take part in practice in full. The participation is obviously a positive sign, but for a team trying to rebound quickly, the illness still leaves a lingering question about how ready he will be when the Buccaneers face Minnesota. [Read more 🡒]
Buccaneers Have Two Bright Spots Fans Cant Ignore Right Now
The first two weeks of the 2026 season have been rough enough in Tampa Bay that the usual discussion points have tilted toward what has gone wrong, with Baker Mayfield and Vita Vea not quite matching the standard the Buccaneers expected from them. In that kind of early-season fog, it is easy for the noise to drown out the smaller signs of progress, but there have been a couple of encouraging developments that stand out for a team trying to steady itself quickly.
Rookie linebacker Josiah Trotter has been one of those bright spots, and running back Bucky Irving has given the offense another reason to feel better about its depth and balance. Even with Alex Anzalone still not living up to expectations, the Buccaneers at least have a pair of young pieces worth building around as they try to keep the early disappointment from becoming a longer problem. [Read more 🡒]
Buccaneers May Need To Rethink One Troubling Edge Rotation
The Buccaneers 0-2 start has already put a spotlight on a defense that has been out of sorts, with tackling issues and too little pressure on opposing quarterbacks adding up to an early concern. Todd Bowles has acknowledged that rookie edge rusher Rueben Bain Jr. is not fully healthy, even as he continues to play, and the results so far have not matched the expectations around a pass rush that was supposed to be a strength.
Meanwhile, David Walker has done more with fewer opportunities, making his snaps count in a way that could force Tampa Bay to reconsider the edge rotation. If the staff decides it needs a spark, Walkers role is the obvious place to look, especially with the pass rush searching for answers and the margin for patience already shrinking after two straight losses. [Read more 🡒]