Firmly at the season’s halfway point, the Bucs are sitting pretty atop the NFC South at 6-2. For the team as a whole, the bye week could not come at a better time, with injuries having battered a ship that looks well on course to make yet another postseason appearance and playoff run.

Speaking about the state of the team before sending the players home for the week and the coaching staff to self-scout, head coach Todd Bowles provided an assessment after Tampa Bay’s Week 8 win, discussing how his defense is coming alive and how they are positioned to compete against the NFC’s elite.

Todd Bowles Believes Bucs’ Week 9 Bye “Could Not Be Better Timing”

It is no secret that the Bucs have been licking their wounds from training camp up until now.

Bucs RT Luke Goedeke – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Injuries to key players have left positions dangerously thin at times. Right now, wide receiver Chris Godwin Jr., running back Bucky Irving, and right tackle Luke Goedeke are among those who have missed significant time and will be using this week to rest and recover with the hope of playing in Week 10 against the resurgent Patriots.

When asked about the status of each of them, Bowles shared if they will be in play to return to the field.

“I think that will be discussed at the end of the week,” Bowles said on Monday. “I think those guys will start doing some things this week depending on the progress they make. We will see how practice goes next week if they can get some things done this week. I do not have a timeline on it either, [we] just have to see how they are progressing.”

It is no doubt frustrating that the updates on each of Godwin, Irving, and Goedeke, among others, have been limited in scope and few and far between. That only brings home the point that this week is paramount to giving everyone time to decompress and get a break from a mental and physical standpoint.

“It could have been Week 4, and I probably would have said it was the most important one,” Bowles said about the timing of the bye week. “It is Week [9], and that is the halfway point, and we are kind of banged up, so it is very important now, but if we were banged up in Week 4, that would have been important as well.

“I think you like to have it in the middle of the season and it came at the right time for us because those guys are fighting hard and a lot of guys are playing banged up — as is everyone in the league. To get it right at this time, [it] could not be better timing.”

Despite the large list of injuries, the Bucs are 6-2. Having won a lot of close games early on and beginning to piece together better offensive performances against the Seahawks and 49ers, there is plenty of optimism about how far Tampa Bay can go. There are still things to improve on, such as when they never stood a chance in Detroit in Week 7, but the makings of a resilient team are there.

Bucs HC Todd Bowles and OC Josh Grizzard – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

They just have to be prepared to come out swinging, as they face the 6-2 Patriots, 5-2 Bills, and 5-2 Rams all in a row to begin the month of November.

“I feel good,” Bowles said when asked about where the team is at the bye week. “We played tough, we’re 6-2, we can do a lot of things better, obviously. We [have] to work on fundamentals [and] we [have] to self-scout as coaches. We [have] to make sure we do not forget the fundamental part of it, they [have] to make sure they continue to take care of their bodies. Our confidence is tough, and our confidence is strong, but we have a long way to go. We understand that it is going to be a big second half when we come back, so we [have] to be ready.”

Todd Bowles Sees Progress Bucs’ Defense Is Making Getting Takeaways, Sacks

The Bucs’ defense is a unit that came into this year with a lot of (justifiable) questions.

Could the secondary record more takeaways?

How would the pass rush get home with a truly dominant outside rusher?

Well, those questions have started to be answered, especially in recent weeks.

Bucs CB Jamel Dean and OLB Yaya Diaby – Photo by: USA Today

After recording just seven interceptions last season, the unit has already matched that total in eight games, largely in part to cornerback Jamel Dean having a career-high three interceptions. Regarding the pass rush, everyone is chipping in. In the last three games, it has really come along with 15 sacks by Todd Bowles’ defense in that span.

Looking at how Tampa Bay is currently in the top five in the NFL in takeaways and have made huge progress in the turnover margin.

Bowles credits what they have practiced for carrying over.

“We practice it all the time,” Bowles said. “They come in bunches. I can’t tell you that there is one thing we do differently that we have not been doing. I have been around when we practiced it daily every day and did everything we could and we got none, and I have been around when we hardly practiced it, and we got a bunch of them. They come in bunches, and the guys start seeing it and they feed off of it and we just have to keep that going.”

Outside of just being tied for the third-most takeaways, the defense also ranks third in the league in sacks, believe it or not. For all of the criticisms made of the group not having its own Micah Parsons, Myles Garrett, or the like, they have been very impressive tallying sacks and creating pressure.

Even if they do not have a Parsons or Garrett, they have had everyone step up, including outside linebacker Anthony Nelson being a true game-changer in Week 8.

Bucs OLB Anthony Nelson and DTs Vita Vea, Logan Hall and Elijah Roberts – Photo by: USA Today

“I like that we are getting home,” Bowles said. “[It] does not matter where they come from. If one guy has 40 sacks and everyone else has none, [then] I am happy for that. As long as we can get the sacks, it really does not bother me where it comes from.”

What has been the difference in recent weeks?

“They are starting to work together,” Bowles added. “They are working together, helping each other out, getting sacks and there [are] not any selfish sacks going on. People are setting people up, and people are taking double teams for other guys and that is good to see.”

When assessing where the Bucs are right now, those that follow the team should be proud of the way they have fought to get to this point. Had you said before the season they would be 6-2 at the bye week, everyone would be surprised. Doing so while fighting and winning games like they have makes it all the more noteworthy, and a reason they are being mentioned side-by-side with the Eagles, Lions, and the NFC’s other top teams.

“We feel we match up with them,” Bowles said at the end of his Monday press conference. “I mean, we beat them both last year and that got us nowhere, so we lost to them both this year, so hopefully that gets us everywhere. We will see what happens… I think we match up well, it is just a matter of playing good football.”