The panic button has been hit by many in Tampa Bay. The Bucs are 0-2 having lost to one of the worst teams in the league with the Browns prevailing in Week 2, 23-19.

Tampa Bay’s defense continues to make the same mistakes from a season ago, and the offense hasn’t found it’s footing yet. The Bucs are accustomed to three-game losing streaks. They’ve done so in every year Todd Bowles has been the head coach. But this time it may only take three games into the season to reach that dubious streak again.

The Bucs need a major adrenaline boost. They need some sort of pick-me-up to course correction. And yet the message from Bowles to his players after an embarrassing loss doesn’t inspire all that much.

Bucs Won’t Have Anybody Saving Them

“Nobody is coming to save us,” Todd Bowles said. “We have to fix ourselves and we have to fix it in a hurry. We’ve dealt with adversity before. This is an adverse situation again. [It’s] the first time at the beginning of the season, but we’re 0-2 right now and we have to pull ourselves up by our boots, and we’ve got to win.”

What makes it more frustrating amongst fans is Bowles’ unwillingness to call others out for their mistakes. He takes the blame, which is admirable, but the same repeated answers over and over has made fans enraged.

Bucs HC Todd Bowles – Photo by: IMAGN Images via Reuters Connect

Dating back to last season the Bucs have lost nine of their last 11 games, including the first two of the 2026 campaign. It’s not a aberration at this point. They can be beat by any team and often lose to the opponents that they should take care of business against.

Bowles doesn’t view last season as carrying over in to this year. He’ll reference that it’s a long a season, but how much further can the Bucs go before the season is done for if the losses keep mounting?

The Pressure Is Mounting For Tampa Bay To Get Its First Win

Todd Bowles was asked if the losing from last year’s 2-7 finish has impacted everyone’s confidence this season.

“I feel like that won’t be determined until the end of the season,” Bowles said. “I think if you lose the first two games of the year, that doesn’t determine the other 15 games. That’s probably a question that could be answered [better] later than now. Right now, we’re 0-2 – we’re not 0-9 or 0-11. That doesn’t bother me as much from that standpoint. We’ve just got to get better and win a ballgame.”

The silver lining for Tampa Bay is that it does play in the NFC South. However, with the Saints defeating the Ravens and the Panthers having figured out their offense, the Bucs can’t fall too far from the pack as both of those teams are now 1-1. Since the Bucs are 0-2 there’s pressure to keep pace while also find a way to get their first win.

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

“I think [there is] always pressure until you get your first win out [of] the way,” Bowles said. “You know, you try to get it out the way at the beginning of the season so you don’t have to worry about it anymore. It’s not a different kind of pressure, so to speak. It’s probably a different kind of urgency – not that you’re not playing urgent already – but you just want to get that first win on the board.”

When questioned about what the mood is in the locker room, Bowles gave an interesting reply. The team feels they’re close to breaking out. Hopefully it happens soon before the season is out of reach.

“Angrily optimistic,” Bowles said. “You’re always mad when you lose, and you’re never satisfied that way, but you’re always optimistic for the game and the things you’ve done well and getting ready for the next week as well.”