Shortly after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers suffered a surprising 26-7 home loss to the previously winless Denver Broncos in Week 3, Tampa Bay quarterback Baker Mayfield suggested that the Buccaneers didn't do a good enough job of preparing to face a hungry opponent.
During a SiriusXM NFL Radio appearance, Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles offered a different theory for why his club looked so flat over the weekend.
"I feel like when we have bad practices, we play better," Bowles explained, according to the JoeBucsFan website. "…I thought we had some decent practices going forward [last week], and we didn’t play that way. So you just got to write it off as a bad loss and we gotta focus on next week."
Somewhat interestingly, Bowles isn't the only noteworthy member of the Buccaneers who seemingly disagrees with Mayfield. According to ESPN's Jenna Laine, star wide receiver Mike Evans said the Buccaneers had a "great week of preparation" leading up to Sunday's disappointment. Fellow receiver Chris Godwin noted he felt the loss was simply an example of the "any given Sunday" nature of the NFL.
"There's so much parity," Godwin said. "Like regardless if a team is 0-2 or not. It's a long season. If we were just like throwing in the towel after one loss, like what kind of people and what kind of a team would we be? So we're gonna go back to work, and we'll be back here fighting next week."
Many star players who were with the Philadelphia Eagles when that club endured an embarrassing 32-9 wild-card playoff loss at Raymond James Stadium in January will again feature for the 2-1 Eagles when they play at the 2-1 Bucs this coming Sunday. As of Tuesday afternoon, DraftKings Sportsbook listed Tampa Bay as a 2.5-point home underdog for that matchup.
Considering how poorly the Buccaneers played against the Broncos, it appears as if Bowles may want to go out of his way to ensure his players have at least one lousy practice before the final Sunday of September arrives.
