Bucs, Wake Up… We’re Killing Ourselves One Week at a Time

Tampa, Florida – A 2–10 team walked into Raymond James Stadium with nothing but faint hope, grabbed a 17–7 halftime lead, and walked out with a 24–20 win without needing to do anything extraordinary. All they had to do was stand there and watch the Buccaneers sabotage themselves drive after drive. A season that once stood at 6–2 with a 2.5-game cushion atop the NFC South is now unraveling in real time.

The second half painted the picture clearly: the Bucs scored just 3 points. Three. Meanwhile, the defense allowed a rookie quarterback making his first career start to run for two touchdowns as if he were jogging through his backyard. After the game, Baker Mayfield stepped up to the podium, his voice hoarse with frustration: “We beat ourselves,” he said. “There’s no one else left to blame.” The scary thing? It’s not the first time he’s said it this season.

Fourth down — once a pillar of this team’s confidence — has become a recurring nightmare. Tampa Bay went just 2-for-7, including 0-for-4 in moments where the season hung in the balance. A fourth-and-1 at midfield: stuffed. A fourth-and-4 with 1:50 left: a low throw to Cade Otton that came up inches short. At the podium afterward, Todd Bowles repeated the same grim line: “We just needed one yard, and we couldn’t get it.” For a team that once attacked fourth downs like a weekly routine, that sentence stings.

This same defense that crushed the Saints 51–27 just weeks ago suddenly let Tyler Shough run free all afternoon. Special teams gifted a 54-yard kick return that led directly to a touchdown. It wasn’t that the Saints played great — it was that the Bucs played shockingly poorly. A team source told ESPN: “This is not the team fans rooted for at the start of the season. We’re losing who we are.”

Four games remain — four chances not just to salvage the playoff push, but to salvage the team’s pride. The Falcons await Thursday night, followed by two must-win showdowns against the Panthers. Inside the locker room, Baker delivered a message that echoed through the room: “As bitter of a taste as this is, and it's very bitter for me and everybody else, we've got to turn around tomorrow and not let one loss turn into two.”

If Tampa Bay keeps hurting itself like this, the season will end with one word: regret.

Wake up, before it’s too late. Because right now, the biggest enemy of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers isn’t the Saints, the Falcons, or the Panthers.
It’s the Buccaneers themselves.