TAMPA, Fla. - There is just one thing that the Bucs need to help recover from a winless second quarter of the season, and they need it bad.
"I don’t care where we win at, we just need to win a game," Todd Bowles said.
Offensively the Bucs were on track to snap their losing streak scoring the most points this team has put on the scoreboard in two seasons. Despite a devastating last second loss to Houston, the Bucs are remaining optimistic.
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They feel that they can still turn this season around and get back into contention due to the progress they are seeing on offense.
"Obviously, we scored a bunch of points, Bowles said. "There [were] more holes in the run game. We went down the field and completed some things. We’ve just got to keep growing and keep building on that. It’s not going to be perfect every time, but there was some light at the end of the tunnel right there that we can build on, and we’ll try to build on it."
"We’ve been talking about the run game, but I think you saw just being on the same page on Sunday of just better execution overall, whether it’s communication up front, guys finishing the blocks, down-the-field blocks – we were better in that aspect, Baker Mayfield said. "The overall understanding of our system – that’s continuing to get better and better the more reps we get."
Mayfield is on pace for his best season. Through eight games he has thrown for his highest completion 64.9%, and he's thrown just four interceptions, which is tied for the third fewest in the NFL among full-time starters. So does he feel he's playing his best?
"Yes and no," Mayfield said. "There are still some of the deeper shots that I want back, that I want to hit. But yeah, I’m definitely taking what is there when the defense is dropping out in some softer coverages and taking completions. I think that’s just a part of growing in the game overall, just having more experience and not getting too aggressive, not trying to be greedy. It’s also just trusting our skill guys knowing that we have the talent. It’s just distributing the ball."
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While the offense appears to be heading in the right direction. The Bucs need the defense to bounce back from one of their worst defeats.
Over the first five games of the season the Bucs' defense allowed just 17 points per game. Over their last three, they've given 26.
"It was a bad game," Carlton Davis III said. "We just had a breakdown game. We are a much better group, I’m a much better player, we’re a much better defense than what we displayed on Sunday. Like I said, it hurts. It’s something that you can never really forget about – even maybe a year from now, I’ll probably have a nightmare like, ‘Woah, that happened.’ Because it did. It hurts because we have those standards, we have the way we carry ourselves as a defense. That’s why it hurts so bad."
Winning at home on Sunday is a step the Bucs need to make.