There’s no way to sugarcoat it. The Bucs were smoked in an embarrassing loss to the Broncos last Sunday. It was one of the most surprising losses in Week 3 throughout the NFL and with it being so lopsided just made it worst. The good news is the season isn’t over and the Bucs stand at 2-1 with a lot more football to play.

Tampa Bay needs to get the bad taste out of their mouth following suffering the first defeat of the season. The question is, will the Bucs dwell on taking a hit to their ego, or will this be used as motivation to make sure it doesn’t happen again and they can back to their winning ways. A lot of times teams can make headway in practice and give them the jolt they need wipe the slate clean and re-focus for the next week. We heard from Todd Bowles on how it’s going.

Bucs HC Todd Bowles – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Are The Bucs Responding Well?

“We had a good practice,” Bowles said. “We have a 24-hour rule. They came out and they flew around. We’re trying to get the game plan down so we can be ready to play.”

Bucs starting quarterback Baker Mayfield had his own take on it.

“Good, I wouldn’t expect anything else from this group but to handle it – take this one on the chin,” Mayfield said. “Like we said, the Broncos outplayed us. They brought the fire and the passion that we didn’t have, and it’ll be good for us to get back out there on Sunday.”

Big Week Of Motivation For The Bucs

The path doesn’t get much easier for the Bucs as they take on a 2-1 Eagles team that just defeated Tampa Bay’s divison rival New Orleans Saints a week ago. Despite injuries to their team, the Bucs understand that no opponent should be taken lightly or else they could suffer the same fate that did them in against Denver.

Mayfield, who’s poor performance had a role in a bad game for Tampa Bay, is also one of the rah-rah guys on this team. He spoke what the focus needs to be on as they get another week going.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today

“Not to take it for granted, but I think we learned our lesson on how detailed we need to be [and] how focused within… It doesn’t matter who we’re playing. We have to try to set the standard within ourselves each week. It’s just a matter of relaying it back and forth with the guys and bringing everybody back to the fundamentals, basic details, and that’s the Bucs brand of football, so we need to play like that.”

In Week 2, the Bucs went into Detroit and beat the Lions, who were a team that defeated the Bucs twice last year, including ending their season in that same spot in the playoffs. In Week 4, the Bucs take on an Eagles team who they also played twice, but the Bucs got the most important win and knocked the Eagles out of the first round in Tampa.

The Bucs have to be ready for the Eagles to have revenge on the mind while Tampa Bay has their own issues that they have to figure out.

“Obviously, you have to expect it,” Mayfield said. “[You] have to expect [that] they’re coming off a big win in New Orleans, and just the type of team they are. We obviously played them twice last year – having familiarity with who they are as personnel and a coaching staff – obviously new coordinators, but personnel wise, [they’re] a lot of the same pieces.

“So, understanding the challenges that they bring and the mentality of how physical they play. We each have to bring our best stuff on Sunday and that’s each and every week, but especially this week.”