Thursday Night Football games in the NFL can be a tricky situation. The league is asking two teams – in this case, the Bucs and the Ravens – who just played on Sunday, to go at it again just four days later with far less recovery time. As we’ve learned in this sport, players need all the time they can get to heal from bumps, bruises and injuries.

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

On the flip side, once the game is over the teams have what has been called a “mini-bye” with the weekend off.

Quick Turnaround vs. More Prep For Bucs

Typically, players and coaches don’t like playing on Thursday night. But in the case of the Bucs, who are reeling after losing three of their last four games, would it almost be better to play right away and forget about their struggles? Or would a full week be even more important to correct previous mistakes and get everyone collectively on the same page?

“Mentally we’re fine,” Todd Bowles said this week. “We want to get back out there and get the sour taste out of our mouth. We can’t wait to play again, but at the same time there’s steps to playing a game on Thursday. So, we’ve got to take those steps and get ready for Thursday.”

Immediately jumping into work for the next opponent does change things around. Most practices are walk-throughs and it’s a lot more mental preparation. This gives the coaches a different perspective of how to best coach and teach their players. That goes double when you have to prepare for a quarterback such as Lamar Jackson.

“The next couple of days, we’re going to walk-through, so I think that will help us,” co-defensive coordinator Larry Foote said. “It’s going to be a lot slower, we can teach a different run game – we’re not used to playing a quarterback that dynamic and he’s involved in the run game. I think it’s going to help us out as far as it [being] slower and we can do a lot more teaching. But If I had it my way, I would love a full week – but the slow [pace] and teaching the process are going to help us.”

Bucs Want To Get The Bad Taste Of Out Of Their Mouths

The Bucs need a win in the worst right way right now. They’ve dropped their last two games to the Steelers and Panthers. These were both opponents that the Bucs were heavy favorites in. Yet somehow, they still sit at first place in the NFC South. Playing earlier in the week allows them to get the sour taste out of their mouth.

Bucs ILB Devin White – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“Most definitely,” inside linebacker Devin White said. “Any game, just having an opportunity to go out there and play ball is always a good thing. It’s another one – it’s an important one, especially losing two in a row. We need the win. We’re a ball club that can win a lot of games, and we will win a lot of games.

“Being at the top of the division is good for playoff picture, but we’ve got to fix the task at hand right now before we even start thinking about the playoffs because we’d just be a one-and-done team. It’s important to get back on the right track of things.”

It sounds like the Bucs locker room is in favor of erasing what happened the last two weeks and putting it behind them. The earlier they have a game, the faster they can do so.

“Yeah, you could say so,” running back Rachaad White said. “Honestly, it’s always good after what we just went through to get back out there as fast as we can. We’re just taking it day by day and we’re going to be grateful and we’re going to be ready.”