The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have looked lost since their Week 12 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
They were late to the party in games against the New England Patriots and Buffalo Bills, but at least they were competitive. Since then, they have let a lead slip away in their last four games, narrowly holding on to a win against the Arizona Cardinals.
With three straight embarrassing losses to divisional opponents, the Bucs' chances of capturing a fifth straight NFC South title are still within grasp. However, it’s going to take a better level of execution from the players than what they’ve displayed in recent weeks.
After the Bucs' Thursday Night Football loss to the Atlanta Falcons, Todd Bowles called out his players in an incentive-laden post-game press conference for their lack of execution, saying they needed to look themselves in the mirror.
Apparently, that message didn’t get through.
Todd Bowles sends yet another message about player accountability
Speaking to the media Monday, after the Buccaneers' loss to the Panthers, Bowles once again reiterated his displeasure of his team’s execution.
“[You’ve] got to execute,” Bowles said. “I mean, it comes down to execution. When you go in there, you play your hardest [and] you’ve got to play your best at the same time. Your best players have got to play great, and your role players have got to play [well]. Then, it comes down to execution at the end. We just didn't execute at the end.”
Bowles has been vocal about his frustration with the team’s lack of execution and lack of killer instinct. The Bucs had several opportunities to put the Panthers game away, but continued to shoot themselves in the foot, and that was the game.
The Bucs have moved on from the loss, and so has Bowles, as his focus is now shifted to putting his players in the best position to win the division.
“I'm fine,” Bowles said. “You get pissed off when you lose, but you coach, you’ve got to get them better each day. That's part of what coaching is for me, that's part of what coaching is for us. You find a way to get these guys motivated and get them going and understand we control our own destiny and we go from there. So, a [coach’s] job is never done. It's never easy, but it's never done. So, we're working on ways to get better and we're going to try to win this division.”
It’s admirable that Bowles and his staff are doing everything they can to make the team better and get them ready for these next two games. However, one thing stood out to me. With the Bucs still in control of their own playoff destiny, why is the coaching staff trying to find a way to motivate their players?
It goes back to what Bowles has said previously, this Buccaneers team lacks a killer instinct to finish. Plays, drives, games, when the execution is needed most, the team finds a way to disappoint. With two games left in the season, all the Bucs need to do is win out to punch their ticket to the playoffs, but with how these last three weeks have gone, there’s not a lot of confidence it’s such a sure thing.