It’s been four very long weeks since the Bucs defense has last forced a turnover. It’s almost unbelievable at this point considering the talent they have, but the last turnover that the Bucs recorded was an interception off of Patrick Mahomes by Sean Murphy-Bunting in a Week 4 loss.

When Tampa Bay faced opponents in Atlanta, Pittsburgh and Carolina in the following weeks, that became even more surprising that they weren’t able to take the ball away, and they failed to do so against Baltimore either. The Bucs also have a struggling offense that’s scoring just 18.3 points per game. One way to help them out is by giving them a short field on a turnover, but that hasn’t been the case.

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

“It’s always frustrating when you don’t get takeaways – that’s what we try to do all the time,” head coach Todd Bowles said this week. “Part of the issue of helping us score is getting takeaways on defense. We’ve got to continue to work on that. Hopefully they come in bunches.”

Have the Bucs been pressing too much to make the big play amid struggles? One thing that the whole team has addressed is getting back to the basics and working on their fundamentals this week.

“I think you always need it – it’s part of the reset process,” Bowles said. “Sometimes you get away from it as the season goes. Some of the things on film show the fundamentals were missing in certain guys – whether it was a missed tackle or filling the alley the right way. We got back to some fundamentals.”

Another addition that’ll give the Bucs  a boost on defense is the return of top corner Carlton Davis III. He’s been out the last two weeks but is expected to come back on Sunday against the Rams.  Davis talked about upping the energy to help Tampa Bay refocus.

“It’s just going out there and having fun, wanting to make plays, and wanting to go out there and beat the guy in front of you,” Davis said. “Winning your one-on-one matchups. And when we win, that brings juice. When you get stops, that brings juice. When you make plays, that brings juice. You got to focus on making plays, being aggressive and focus on attacking.”

Bucs Holding Players Accountable

Bucs CB Carlton Davis III – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Of course, it’s been well publicized now that team captain Laovnte David led a players only meeting this week. At 3-5, the Bucs haven’t even come close to playing to their potential. As bad as things have been, they only need a little spark to turn things around. The players still believe in each other and aren’t listening to those doubting them.

“I don’t care about what they’re saying on the outside, like that doesn’t come into this locker room,” Davis said. “It doesn’t come into this brotherhood – it’s a free country, so I guess you can say whatever you want to say, right? You can say the sky is green, congrats. But, inside this locker room we’re brothers and we’re going to stick by each other through thick and thin and we understand that we’ve got to get back on track and that’s what we’re doing.”

“Our record shows we’re not playing to our capability,” safety Mike Edwards said. “We got to come together and just play every snap, every down, not worry about what the other side of the ball is doing. The offense has got to play, we got to play, special teams, we all got to come together and play.”