This past Sunday against the Saints was one of the hardest games for the Bucs this season. Not only did the team lose, but they came out flat and never were in a position to win against their biggest division rival. Tampa Bay has a chance to leave their latest performance in the rearview and in 2023, as a win against the Panthers this week can put them at 9-8 and in the playoffs with a clean slate. To get there, they just have to look in the mirror and stay focused on the task at hand.

This Week Will Be About The Bucs Looking In The Mirror

The Bucs were riding high heading into Week 17 against the Saints, winners of four straight games. The offense was clicking and the defense was getting key stops and takeaways. Neither of those things happened on New Year’s Eve. Instead, the offense did not get going until the end of the game while the defense was on the field about two-thirds of the game and allowed the Saints to control the tempo. Running back Rachaad White said afterward that the message this week is looking in the mirror and moving on from their latest showing.

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

“The message was really just look in the mirror,” White said. “At the end of the day, you [have] to reassess. You have to look at the mistakes you made. After you look at that, you have to keep pushing, you have to keep fighting. I mean, we can’t really dwell. So yes, after we correct what needs to be corrected, you [have] to move on to the next opportunity.”

As Eminem said in his hit song “Lose Yourself” back in the day, “You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow, This opportunity comes once in a lifetime yo.”

Inside linebacker Lavonte David echoed that sentiment when describing what the Bucs have the chance to do this Sunday. David knows that it’s hard to get in the position of making the playoffs. From 2012 to 2019, he did not experience playoff football. To get there this time around, Tampa Bay cannot miss its chance to blow.

“It’s just knowing you only get these opportunities once in a lifetime,” David said. “All of these opportunities don’t come around often. You’ve got to know what’s at stake. We’ve just got to be better, man. We’ve just got to be better. You can’t take this stuff for granted. We worked so hard to get here and we just let it go like that. We can’t allow that to happen. We’ve got to learn from this, look ourselves in the mirror this week, be better, come out better next week, and have a better showing.”

The Bucs View Last Sunday’s Loss As “Absolutely Unacceptable”

When asked how the Bucs’ offense fared on Sunday, running back Chase Edmonds gave Pewter Report his honest assessment. Tampa Bay did not get on the scoreboard until the fourth quarter and overall, the unit came out flat and couldn’t get in a rhythm until it was too late.

Bucs RB Chase Edmonds – Photo by: USA Today

“Unacceptable,” Edmonds said of the offense’s performance. “Made a little run at the end, but I mean like, when you’re a player, you kind of know those things tend to happen because teams ease up a little bit. It’s like two-minute offense coverage. So just for us, absolutely unacceptable. We came out flat. I think we started the game three-and-out and didn’t really give our defense any help in the first half.

“They played, from what I thought the situation was, pretty well considering the fact we turned the ball over a little bit. Just didn’t help them out. I don’t think it was a lack of preparation or urgency, in terms of leading up to the week, because obviously, it’s not hard to get up for a game like this. For whatever reason we came out flat, and then once we did come out flat, we did a poor job of stopping the slide.”

Tight end Cade Otton said after the game that he was “excited” to go back and look at how the team beat itself, and Edmonds echoed the point of getting better from it and approaching this week giving everything they got.

“We just have to learn,” Edmonds added. “There’s championship culture in this room already, plenty of guys that won the ring here with the 2020 team. Nothing really needs to be said, it’s more of next week is for it all. Win and we’re in, and that’s how we’re approaching it. We’re going to watch this film, we’re going to learn from it and get better from it because that’s what you need to do, and then we’re going to move on.”

What’s The Message This Week For The Bucs?

Quarterback Baker Mayfield said after the game that the Bucs are “still sitting right where we need to be” despite the loss. Teams try to carry the one-game-at-a-time mentality throughout the season, but that holds no more weight than this week. If Tampa Bay loses this week, there will be nothing left to play for this season, so the effort and energy in the building will need to be at an all-time high.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“We all know what’s at stake, Chase Edmonds said. “The energy is going to be high, everyone is going to be alert and ready to go. I think it’s more so about honing in on your details, the fundamentals because everything is just going to be a heightened sensation. Not making it bigger than it is, obviously it is big.

“Honing in on the details, the fundamentals, and figuring out a way to focus on your job play-in and play-out. I know that’s so cliche, but it’s the truth. You start making the moment bigger than it is, guys start pressing, guys start trying to make plays that’s outside of the playbook or outside of the schematics, and then s–t goes south.”

The Bucs need to make the most of the next few days of practice if they want to be physically and mentally prepared enough to win on Sunday and keep it rolling into the playoffs. That means working overtime and being locked in.

“For us, it’s just about treating this week – this week of practice has to be our best week of practice, Edmonds added. “From a physicality standpoint, from a walkthrough standpoint, from a team standpoint. Guys should be in the building left and right hours over. That’s if you ask me. Lose and we go home so, staying locked in and just doing our best as professionals to make sure that we walk away with a win next week.”