Despite a 6-3 record, the vibes around the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are all out of whack. The Bucs lost a winnable game on Sunday, getting in their own way enough times to lose to New England 28-23 and yet again failing to measure up in a big game.
That's just the first of three big games the Bucs will play over the next three weeks, which is just the tip of the iceberg of bad vibes going around.
An underlying current to everyone's anxiety is the continued absence of Bucky Irving and Chris Godwin. Both players have been out for weeks, with Irving injuring himself in the loss to Philadelphia, while Godwin has been out since the win over Seattle.
Each week we've gotten cryptic non-updates on their statuses, which has ultimately spiraled into extended absences. Things aren't about to get any better either, as the only clarity the Bucs have provided on their health is that they aren't ready to play yet.
Buccaneers give a less than ideal update on Bucky Irving and Chris Godwin
Todd Bowles gave about as grim an update this side of ruling either player out for the season, noting that there's "no timetable" for either's return.
This giant bummer of an update comes after weeks of the Bucs refusing to rule either player out until the last minute, which indicated they were closer to returning than they actually were. All of that makes the fact that they've now been ruled out already feel a lot worse than it otherwise would.
#Bucs HC Todd Bowles says hopefully they can get Bucky Irving, Chris Godwin Jr. and Haason Reddick back soon. But there's no timetable for their returns.
— PewterReport 🏴☠️ (@PewterReport) November 10, 2025
Todd Bowles says it’s a shoulder injury that’s keeping Bucky Irving out. He has to be able to take a hit and it doesn’t look like they plan to test it this week.
— Rick Stroud (@NFLSTROUD) November 10, 2025
Not great!
There are a few threads to pick at here, not the least of which is how the Bucs are about to play two of their toughest games without two of their most important players. The game against Buffalo is a little more winnable than it seemed before, given the weird slump the Bills are in, but it also means Tampa Bay is getting an angry opponent with something to prove.
After that, the Bucs head out to Los Angeles for a big game against the white-hot Rams, one that could end up being the difference between Tampa Bay getting boxed out of a top seed in the NFC playoff picture.
Oh, and as if that wasn't already stressful enough, the game is going to be on Sunday Night Football which means primetime baggage is being added to the mix.
The real crux of the frustration here is how weird the Bucs have been with these injury updates. Bucky went from having a foot injury to also having a shoulder injury, and from being week-to-week to being out for six. The same thing happened with Godwin, who quietly appeared on the injury report after Week 5 with a fibula injury that ended up being more severe than anyone initially let on.
It's an established pattern with the Bucs. Last year Antoine Winfield Jr. was quietly added to the injury report after a Week 1 win only to then miss the next handful of games. Why the Bucs are so goofy with the way they report these injuries is beyond anyone at this point, but none of what the team is saying is good news.
Irving's injury was supposed to be one that kept him out for a few weeks, and now there's no timeline for his return. It's making an already frustrating stretch of the season even worse, and it's hard not to feel bummed out by how far and hard the vibes have fallen.