Todd Bowles said the Buccaneers were in a dark place after a loss to the Jets last Sunday dropped his team to 3-4. Tampa Bay's coach largely repeated those sentiments after Thursday night's 27-22 loss to the Ravens, dropping the Bucs to 3-5 and a half game behind the Falcons for first place in the NFC South.
Bowles' team started off well, as it took a 10-3 halftime lead on the strength of a defense that recorded two red zone stands. But the offense dried up after two early scores, while the defense was unable to duplicate its early success after losing linebacker Shaq Barrett to a possible season-ending injury.
"It's still dark," Bowles said, via the team's website. "Until you win ballgames consistently and play four quarters consistently, it's going to be dark. That doesn't mean we can't get out of it. We just have a lot of work to do, as coaches and as players."
Bowles said that changes could be coming to the coaching staff as he and his staff head into their mini bye week. The Buccaneers have nine days until their next game against the Rams in a rematch of January's divisional round thriller.
"We are going to talk about everything this weekend," Bowles said, via NFL Media. "When you are not playing well, everything is on the table for us, and we will discuss it as a staff."
It's going to take more than one change to fix the issues currently plaguing Tampa Bay, which is less than two years removed from hoisting the Lombardi Trophy. The offense has struggled to run the ball while putting more of the onus on 45-year-old Tom Brady. Tampa Bay's revamped offensive line has also struggled to protect Brady, who was sacked three times on Thursday night and hit several other times.
Missed tackles and an inability to stop the Ravens on the outside plagued the Buccaneers' defense, which allowed Baltimore to run for 231 yards while controlling the ball for over 38 minutes.
Fortunately for the Buccaneers, they play in arguably the NFL's weakest division. Unlike the teams vying for playoff spots in the NFL's other divisions, the Buccaneers could possibly win the South with a losing record, as every team in the division currently sits below .500. But if the Buccaneers want to be considered as a legitimate Super Bowl contender, the product they've put on the field so far certainly won't get it done.
"I don't think anyone feels good," Brady said after losing three straight games for the first time in his career. "We lost five of six, so not where we wanna be. We haven't earned it and we got to go earn it. You gotta fight hard and you gotta figure out how to win games."
