It’s still hard to ignore the disastrous fall from grace for the Bucs after starting out the 2025 season 6-2 but finishing the year 2-7. Tampa Bay’s 8-9 record prevented the team from making the playoffs as Carolina won the NFC South due to a tiebreaker. Everybody wants to blame head coach Todd Bowles for the team’s collapse, whether it was his game-planning, the struggles on the defensive side of the ball, or his inability to fire the team up.

That’s very understandable, but what if there was more to it? What if the players weren’t as kumbaya as everyone believed from a team chemistry standpoint?

Todd Bowles Comments On Bucs’ Potential Chemistry Problems

There were some notable cracks in the armor that we hadn’t seen in years past with the 2025 version of the Buccaneers teams. Some moments included left tackle Tristan Wirfs and running back Bucky Irving getting into it on the sidelines in a 20-17 loss at Miami, Vita Vea being frustrated with Haason Reddick while the two walked off the field after Tampa Bay’s 29-28 loss to Atlanta on Thursday Night Football.

And of course, Mike Evans’ “3rd-and-28!” scream heard around the world after the loss to the Falcons that may have been the straw that broke the camel’s back in his departure. Was it a lack of targets down the stretch that made Evans want to leave Tampa Bay?

There was also Rachaad White’s unhappiness with Irving getting the lion’s share of touches down the stretch, and his eager to leave the Bucs in free agency.

Granted, winning teams fight as well. But these spats and outbursts seemed out of the norm in Tampa Bay.

Yet Todd Bowles disagrees with that sentiment.

Bucs head coach Todd Bowles – Photo by: Scott Reynolds/PR

“Not chemistry issues, we just didn’t execute at certain times of the games, especially in the second half,” Bowles said at the NFL annual meeting held in Phoenix, Arizona this year. “We lost a lot of three-point games and we won those in the past, and we didn’t win them in (this) fall. From a coaching standpoint and a playing standpoint, we got to be better. Obviously we made changes player-wise and coaching-wise, so we’ll go into that and rebuild that chemistry and try to get out on top.”

Were The Bucs Inspired Enough Down The Stretch Last Year?

There’s a saying that “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” That would not be a way to describe Tampa Bay’s 2025 season as the team spiraled after the bye week, losing seven of the last nine games. Things looked rosy at the bye with a 6-2 record, but once the opponents got tougher and a pair of three- and four-game losing streaks began, the Bucs began to crumble at the end of the season.

This began coming out of the bye week. And while the Patriots, Bills and Rams are all great teams, the Bucs lost to all three. Tampa Bay trailed at halftime in all three of those games. The Bucs saw themselves down 21-10 in the fourth quarter to New England, making it difficult to overcome.

Their defense was so bad against Buffalo that despite taking a one-point lead in the fourth quarter in a back-and-forth game, they managed to lose by 12, 44-32, at the end thanks to Josh Allen’s six touchdowns. The Bucs also got beaten so badly by the Rams that the game was over five minutes into the second quarter of a 34-7 drubbing.

Bucs HC Todd Bowles – Photo by: Jeffrey Jones/PR

And yet, despite all that, all the Bucs had to do down the stretch was beat a few lowly teams to punch a playoff ticket. They survived a scare against the 3-14 Cardinals in a 20-17 victory, but then endured a four-game losing streak to the Saints (6-11), Falcons (8-9), Panthers (8-9) and Dolphins (7-10). Tampa Bay had a lead in many of these games at some point. The Bucs were fighting for their playoff lives and yet barely had much fight.

Were teams hungrier than Tampa Bay?

“I don’t think teams were more hungry to play,” Bowles said. “They beat us – doesn’t mean they were more hungry to play. There were physical mistakes, but effort-wise, our effort was outstanding. We didn’t play smart at times, we didn’t coach smart at times, but as far as from a hunger standpoint, I would not use that word.”

How Good Are The Bucs Heading Into The 2026 Season?

Deciding how the Bucs are going to fare in 2026 is a journey in and of itself. On one hand, they lost their greatest offensive player in team history with Mike Evans’ departure to the 49ers, as well as icon linebacker Lavonte David retiring this offseason. Plus the team didn’t make a splashy enough move on defense to make the unit radically better or excite the fan base. That, combined with Todd Bowles’ return as head coach in 2026 doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence.

On the other hand, the Bucs still have a lot of talent on offense with the group getting healthier, and Zac Robinson is a new, experienced offensive coordinator that can get the best out of the players on that side of the ball. Tampa Bay also retooled its defensive coaching staff and added four new players to the front seven on defense.

Bucs HC Todd Bowles – Photo by: USA Today

They’re certainly not in the the same category as the Seahawks and Rams, but the Bucs might not be near the bottom of the barrel as many want to believe, either.

“I feel like we’re a top flight NFL team,” Bowles said. “I don’t think we’re [the] 6-2 [team] but I don’t think we’re [a] 2-6 [team] either. I think we have to start over, and I think you have to lay the groundwork again and build differently because you lost two of your best leaders on and off the field.

“We have to build differently and our mentality has got to be different. And there has got to be different people to step up, but I do feel like we have a very good football team.”