Bucs head coach Todd Bowles was not pleased with his defense after allowing quarterback Kirk Cousins to pick it apart again as the team lost 31-26 to the Falcons on Sunday. It was a game that was very much winnable for Tampa Bay, but it slipped away as the defensive side of the football has been unable to get stops and make the kinds of plays needed to take pressure off a new-look offense.

Bowles talked about some extra chances the team took to get back into the game and what issues arose defensively, especially in the first half. He then went on to discuss how the offense performed without wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, if quarterback Baker Mayfield tried to do too much, and what his message to the team was following another tough loss that dropped them down to .500 and out of first place in the NFC South.

Todd Bowles’ Full Post-Game Transcript

Todd Bowles on the fake punt play:

“We had a look that we were going to run the fake against. We saw the look early and then they kind of switched up on him at the last minute and they got us.”

Todd Bowles on if they should’ve called off the fake when the Falcons switched up the look:

“It was kind of late at the time.”

Todd Bowles on if the team took some extra chances with the flea flicker and the fake punt attempt due to feeling that there was pressure to get back into the game:

“Nah, I don’t think those two caused us to lose the game, but I thought defensively we made some bonehead plays in the first half, and we missed some things and got some penalties on offense in the second half. It’s hard when you’re playing against the Bucs and the Falcons at the same time. You cannot beat two teams.”

Todd Bowles on what he attributes the defense allowing explosive plays to:

“[A] lack of concentration. These are day-one things we should know. Either we missed the tackle, or we didn’t play it right, and it’s nothing new [that] we put in. There’s no chemistry to it – we’ve just got to play it better defensively, and we have to coach it better defensively. But there’s no excuse for it.”

Falcons WR Darnell Mooney and Bucs CB Tyrek Funderburk and ILB K.J. Britt – Photo by: USA Today

Todd Bowles on DB Josh Hayes’ performance in the second half:

“I’ve got to watch the tape. He fought hard and I know he didn’t give up too many [completions]. He’s a tough kid and, as far as I know, he played well. I’ll look at the tape and see.”

Todd Bowles on the reason Hayes went in for CB Tyrek Funderburk:

“Based on performance, and they were neck and neck anyway. We wanted to get him in there and we thought we needed a spark, so we put him in.”

Todd Bowles on the reason behind the defensive regression as it relates to opponent points scored:

“That’s a good question. It starts with coaching. It starts with me. It starts with the defensive coaches and it starts with players. We’ve got to play better. We have to fix it. Nobody is coming to save us. We have to do a hell of a lot better job than we’re doing and that starts with me.”

Todd Bowles on his thoughts on how the offense performed without WRs Mike Evans and Chris Godwin:

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield and OC Liam Coen – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“I thought they fought. They did some good things. They had time of possession and made some plays. You don’t like the false starts, but overall, those guys fought hard – 26 points should be enough.”  

Todd Bowles on if QB Baker Mayfield tried to do too much after throwing two interceptions:

“No, he didn’t. He played within the scheme of it. We’re trying to win a ball game. You’re going to make some plays and you’re going to give up a few here and there.”

Todd Bowles on if it’s frustrating that the record at this point in the season is playing out similar to last year

“No, it has nothing to do with last year. It’s frustrating because we’re making mistakes [and] beating ourselves. That’s the part we have to clean up. We can’t play ourselves plus the opponent. Whether they’re tough ones, easy ones… no matter who we play the next two weeks, we’ve got to play better in order for us to win.”

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

Todd Bowles on what explanation the referees gave to on Atlanta Falcons TE Kyle Pitts’ second touchdown in which the ball was knocked out of his hand near the goal line:

“They said they didn’t have a clear side view of it.”

Todd Bowles on if he believed the touchdown call should have stood:

“I’m not a referee. I wish I could make the call.”

Todd Bowles on what he said to the team in the locker room after the game:

“I said we’ve got to fix our problems. The problems are in the locker room, but the answers are in the locker room. From coaches to players, we’ve got to stay together, we’ve got to fix us and we’ve got to get moving.”