The struggling Tampa Bay Buccaneers are at a loss to explain what’s gone wrong after a promising start. The two-time defending NFC South champions have lost four straight games — five of six overall — after winning three of four to begin the season. The team’s longest skid since 2019, however, has not knocked the Bucs (3-5) out of contention for another division title and what would be a franchise-best fourth consecutive playoff berth.
LAST MEETING: Texans beat Buccaneers 23-20 on Dec. 21, 2019, in Tampa. BUCCANEERS PLAYER TO WATCH: QB Baker Mayfield has done a good job of protecting the football while throwing for 1,600 yards with 10 touchdowns and four interceptions.
C.J. Stroud didn’t let last week’s tough loss to the previously winless Panthers get to him. The rookie quarterback took lessons from that defeat that he’ll use Sunday when he leads the Houston Texans against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. “As the year goes on, I feel like it gets a little harder,” Stroud said.
TAMPA Had Todd Bowles not played eight seasons in the NFL for Washington and San Francisco, he says he may never have become an NFL coach. “I think it would’ve been tough to make those contacts,” Bowles said. But thanks to the futuristic thinking of the Glazer family, there will be another entry point into the NFL. The franchise already known as the model for inclusive hiring is launching .