Tampa Bay Buccaneers Must Win Coming Out of Bye Week to Break Troubling Trend

Todd Bowles needs to ensure his team is prepared to succeed coming off their bye week. If not, it could cost him his job.

Collin Haalboom | Nov 17, 2024

Sep 8, 2024; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles looks on against the Washington Commanders during the first half at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images / Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

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Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The NFL bye week is designed to give each team in the league an opportunity to rest up and recalibrate.

Coming off four consecutive losses, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers certainly need their Week 11 bye week in order to do exactly that.

The additional benefit of having a week off is the extra time it provides a team to prepare for their next opponent. It's a clear advantage when you consider the fact that often times that opponent does not share the same bye week, and is therefore preoccupied with preparing for another team.

Unfortunately for the past three seasons they haven't been able to capitalize on the additional time to prepare for their opponent coming off their bye weeks.

Last season, coming off their Week 5 bye week, the Buccaneers were dominated by the Detroit Lions at Raymond James Stadium by a score of 20-6. In 2022, Tampa Bay had their bye in Week 11, but came out flat in their return to action and lost a heartbreaker to the Cleveland Browns on the road in overtime. In Todd Bowles' first season at the helm in Tampa Bay, the Bucs were dominated by the Washington Commanders 29-19 in Week 10, despite having two weeks to prepare for that game.

Todd Bowles is already under an immense amount of pressure to perform coming out of the bye week. Having lost four consecutive games with his defense playing like the worst group in the entire league, it's easy to see why Bowles is starting to feel the heat.

With how the Bucs have played over the past month, defeating a 2-8 New York Giants team is far from guaranteed. And if Tampa Bay hopes to make a push for the postseason, they simply can't afford to lose that game.

The fact that Todd Bowles is 0-2 coming out of the bye week since joining the Bucs doesn't exactly inspire much confidence. If Bowles is unable to buck this troubling trend, then it very well could be his last chance to do so as the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

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Published Nov 17, 2024

COLLIN HAALBOOM

Prior to joining BucsGameday and Sports Illustrated, Collin's written content was provided through Bucs Banter, and NFL Draft Lounge. He is also the creator and host of the Bucs Banter Podcast. He is a graduate of the Communication Studies program at McMaster University, where he was also a varsity basketball player, and later an advanced scout. He lives with his wife and two children in Hamilton, ON. You can follow Collin on YouTube and Twitter.