A fast start matters for every NFL team, but for a few coaches, it may decide everything. After an offseason full of changes around the league, the pressure is already building on several sideline leaders who can’t afford to let September slip away.
Todd Bowles is one of them in Tampa Bay. The Buccaneers lost a few pieces this offseason, and the NFC South looks tougher around them.
Tampa Bay’s rivals in the division appear to have improved while the Bucs have been forced to absorb some losses of their own. Rueben Bain Jr. could be a solid pick for them, but this season leaves very little room for error.
If things turn south early, the noise around Bowles’ job could start immediately.
The Bucs are also going to need their veteran leadership to steady the ship. How Emeka Egbuka and Chris Godwin perform will matter a lot, and the staff will have to make smart adjustments to get the most out of the roster. Bowles is going to be judged on whether he can keep Tampa Bay competitive in a division that does not look forgiving.
In Philadelphia, Nick Sirianni is in a different kind of pressure cooker. He’s already delivered a Super Bowl, but that buys only so much in a league that lives by “What have you done for me right now?”
The Eagles also traded AJ Brown because their team and he weren’t on the right terms, and Jeff Stoutland, their longtime Eagles offensive line coach, suddenly departs. Sirianni also can’t keep his coordinators for Jalen Hurts, and the Eagles never found steady playcalling.
They could have fired Kevin Patullo, but Sirianni refused.
That means the expectation is simple: he has to produce. A division title and a strong playoff run should be the minimum, because the roster is still elite and a bad season could push the Sirianni era toward its end.
The defense has never been the issue. Jalen Hurts had a great year under Kellen Moore, and now the question is how he looks under Sean Mannion.
Mannion worked well with Jordan Love of the Green Bay Packers, so there will be plenty of attention on whether he can help Hurts deliver again.
Aaron Glenn faces a different challenge in New York, where the leash could be short. The sense is that the Jets have talent, but the biggest issue is whether Geno Smith can drive the offense.
Their division is shaping up as a two-team race with Buffalo and New England, and Glenn is being viewed as someone better suited to be a defensive coordinator than a first-time head coach. That’s not unusual, either.
Brian Daboll is one example.
The Jets also need real progress from young draft picks like Omar Cooper Jr. and Kenyon Sadiq. With the pressure on and expectations already tilted against him, it would not be a surprise if Glenn doesn’t make it through the full season.
Zac Taylor is another coach under the microscope, even with the Bengals making a notable move on defense by landing former New York Giants defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence. Cincinnati needed help there badly.
The defense ranked 30th in success% and was the worst rushing defense, giving up 2,500 yards on the ground. Lawrence should help fix that.
But Taylor’s bigger issue is that the Bengals have to prove they can get rolling early. He’s been with the team for seven seasons and has taken them to a Super Bowl appearance, though they couldn’t beat the LA Rams.
The offense still revolves around whether Burrow stays healthy, and if he does, this should be a playoff team. Even so, the slow starts under Taylor are impossible to ignore.
The Bengals are 3-11 in the first two weeks of the season and 6-14-1 through the first three.
That’s why their opener against the Buccaneers matters so much. Cincinnati is trying to break the pattern and avoid spending another season chasing the games it let get away at the start.
In Other News...
Buccaneers Have One Last Roster Battle Fans Need To Watch
The Buccaneers head into their final preseason game against the Jaguars with the roster picture still carrying a few loose ends, and those fringe battles are often where the most attention is earned in late August. For Tampa Bay, the game is less about the scoreboard and more about which players can turn a strong summer into a legitimate case for one of the last spots before cutdown day.
Jalon Daniels is among the names worth tracking as he tries to make a push for the backup quarterback job, while Ayden Garnes has helped himself with his play on defense throughout the preseason. Kam Johnson also remains in the mix by doing the kind of special teams work that can tip the scales for players who need to stand out in more than one phase, which is exactly the sort of detail that can decide these final roster calls. [Read more 🡒]
Jaguars Take Control As Buccaneers Backup Battle Gets Messy
The first half of the Buccaneers-Jaguars preseason game offered plenty of work for Tampa Bays reserves, even if the scoreboard stayed quiet with Jacksonville up 3-0. Anthony Nelson gave the staff a useful reminder of why he remains a depth pass-rush option, while Kameron Johnson looked like the most reliable receiver in the group despite one drop. Punter Dixon also helped his case by averaging 45.3 yards per kick and placing two punts inside the 20.
The more uneasy part of the evaluation came elsewhere, where running back Tucker had only limited success after an early run and quarterback Jalon Daniels never really settled in. Daniels finished 7 of 14 for 54 yards and added a turnover, leaving Tampa Bay with more questions than answers as the backup competition plays out. For a team trying to sort through the edges of the roster, these are the kinds of snaps that tend to matter most. [Read more 🡒]
Buccaneers Backup QB Battle Just Put One Roster Spot In Focus
The Buccaneers quarterback room has become one of the more interesting parts of their preseason, with Jalon Daniels and Jake Browning competing for the backup job behind Baker Mayfield. Todd Bowles has kept the final-game plan close to the vest, leaving open the possibility that both quarterbacks will get work against the Jacksonville Jaguars as Tampa Bay continues sorting out its depth chart.
What makes the situation notable is that this may not be a simple winner-take-all battle. Tampa Bay could keep three quarterbacks on the active roster after final cuts, which would allow the team to hold onto both Daniels and Browning if it decides the room is too valuable to trim. The preseason finale should help clarify the pecking order, but the bigger roster question may linger a little longer. [Read more 🡒]