Okay, listen up, because what’s going down in Tampa Bay right now is absolutely wild. The Buccaneers are staring at a brutal 0-3 start to the 2026 season, and honestly, that’s just the tip of the iceberg of their absolute mess. This team has completely defied expectations for the worse, specifically dating back to their bye week in 2025. Back then, they were a hopeful 6-2 and looked set for a postseason berth, but since that point, hardly anything has gone their way. Everything they do seems to go wrong, and their head coach is under immense scrutiny already.
This Historical Losing Streak Is Nuts
We’re talking about a level of bad that’s breaking records, man. In the 12 games since that 2025 bye week, these guys are an unbelievable 0-12 against the spread. You read that right: **zero for twelve**! According to Action Network, that’s the longest streak without a cover in the entire Super Bowl era. Think about that for a second! It’s not like they’re always underdogs, either. Tampa Bay was actually the betting favorite in eight of those 12 games, and they lost every single one of them outright. Three times they were favored by at least a touchdown and still managed to blow it. Their outright record in that entire 12-game stretch is a dismal 2-10, making it one of the most disappointing runs you can imagine.
Coach Todd Bowles tried to brush off the first nine games of that sample size, saying the past is “irrelevant” to the direction of the franchise. He stated, “We understand that, but it’s this season now. Nothing counts last year no matter who you are,” after their 23-16 loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday. But come on, Coach, how do you ignore that kind of momentum, or lack thereof? That abysmal conclusion to 2025 provides serious context for this team’s current struggles and is precisely why Bowles’ job security is widely viewed as limited.
Baker Mayfield’s Big Money, Bigger Problems
And then there’s the Baker Mayfield situation, which is only making matters worse. Remember that high-profile contract standoff this summer? They finally got a deal done just before Week 1, locking him into a lucrative three-year extension. We’re talking $55 million a year, which places him in a tie as the third-highest-paid quarterback in the whole darn NFL on a per-year basis. Now, I get it, the dude was a dark-horse MVP candidate as recently as two years ago and earned two Pro Bowl selections in his first two years with the franchise. But he regressed in 2025, and this year? It’s off to an even worse start.
From an efficiency standpoint, Mayfield stands firmly in the bottom tier of NFL starting quarterbacks right now. Among qualified passers, he’s 31st in EPA per dropback at -0.30, 28th in passer rating at 80.0, 27th with only two passing touchdowns, and 21st in completion rate at 63.5%. Woof. To cap it all off, he left Sunday’s loss with a dislocated thumb. His departure in the fourth quarter left an undrafted rookie, Jalon Daniels, atop the offense, and it’s raising some serious concerns about Mayfield’s availability in the weeks to come.
The Buccaneers are 0-3, their coach is facing intense heat, and their big-money quarterback is injured and struggling with some truly concerning numbers. This team desperately needs to find some answers, and fast, if they want to turn this shipwreck of a season around.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by CBS Sports.
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