Buccaneers' Todd Bowles gets brutally honest on 'complete collapse' vs. Broncos

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost their first game of the season in an embarrassing 26-7 defeat against the Denver Broncos. Head coach Todd Bowles didn't mince his words when discussing the Buccaneers' performance.

Tampa Bay allowed Denver to score 17 points before finding paydirt. From offense to defense, Bowles saw an unmitigated disaster in Week 3, via Greg Auman of Fox Sports.

“Complete team collapse,” Bowles said. “Complete team loss.”

Bowles went on to say the Broncos simply outplayed the Buccaneers on Sunday. The head coach didn't have many positives coming out of the loss.

Before that first touchdown – a five-yard pass to Chris Godwin – Tampa Bay struggled to get the ball moving. Their first four drives resulted in a punt, interception, punt and turnover on downs.

Quarterback Baker Mayfield, who had been lauded for his play, completed 25-of-33 passes for 163 yards, alongside his TD and pick. The run game didn't help either, only gaining 91 yards. Furthermore, their seven points are by far Tampa Bay's fewest of the 2024 campaign.

For all of the Buccaneers' struggles on offense, the defensive unit didn't fare much better. They allowed 352 yards of total offense, including Bo Nix's 216 passing yards. Tampa Bay didn't allow any passing touchdowns. However, both Bo Nix and Jaleel McLaughlin scored first quarter touchdowns. Will Lutz was in a position to hit four field goals.

The 26 points allowed are the Bucs' highest of the season and comes a week after they held the prolific Detroit Lions to just 16. While the Broncos came into the game 0-2, Denver was the one to end Tampa Bay's quest to go 3-0.

The Buccaneers will have an opportunity to turn things around when they welcome the Philadelphia Eagles to Raymond James in Week 4. To come away with a victory, Todd Bowles knows Tampa Bay needs immediate change. What they showed in Week 3 was simply unacceptable for the head coach.