The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been the most disappointing team in the NFL over the past month and change, as they first went from Super Bowl contenders to Super Bowl pretenders and now they are playing outright awful football. Following back to back losses to division bottom feeders the New Orleans Saints and the Atlanta Falcons, the Buccaneers are now an even 7-7.
It has been quite the fall from grace, and although quarterback Baker Mayfield has been chiefly among those whose play has dropped off in recent weeks, everyone associated with the Buccaneers knows that the real culprit is the king of mediocrity himself, head coach Todd Bowles.
From losing with Tom freaking Brady at quarterback to this collapse, Bowles has run low on any shred of good will he had previously built up, which should not have been a whole lot to begin with. Judging by how his own players have reacted in these crucial losses to New Orleans and Atlanta, even the locker room knows that Bowles is on his last legs.
The Buccaneers have to win
Heading into one of two must win games against the Carolina Panthers that will decide both the very fate of the NFC South this season and the Buccaneers playoff hopes, Bowles has lost the one last glimmer of an excuse that he could have leaned on as a possible crutch to explain away his putrid coaching amidst this spree of losses these last couple of months.
The Buccaneers have a nearly clean injury bill going into Week 16 against Carolina. Mike Evans, Bucky Irving, and Mike Evans are the three big offensive injuries who have all already been back. Godwin, Evans, Cade Otton, and then on defense safety Tykee Smith all practiced fully on Friday. They are no doubters for Sunday's massive matchup.
Meanwhile, the only player to get in a limited practice, linebacker Lavonte David, is trending upwards since he did practice on Friday and is a veteran player who may not necessarily need to practice every day or practice fully on Friday. And given that he is not all that important to the Buccaneers at this stage of his career, even if David does not play, nobody on this planet would ever use that as an excuse for a Buccaneers loss.
Bowles has to do this. He has to win. If he cannot beat former Buccaneers coordinator David Canales and the Panthers, then he is beyond toast. Even winning may not save his job, but losing would crush all of his job hopes, his playoff hopes, and, yes, his dignity.