Can a defense be fixed in December?

Joe has had a lot of folks ask on this here corner of the interwebs and on social media ask why “this Joe” (and only this Joe) is down in the dumps over a win.

Basically, it’s because Joe believes the Bucs played down (?) to the Cardinals.

Yes, Joe gets it: The Bucs held the Cardinals to their second-lowest point total of the season. Remember watching that game Sunday afternoon? Did you at any time think the Bucs had that game locked up until the Bucs defense posted a four-and-out (!) to slam the door?

The Bucs had so many chances to put that game away and kept Arizona hanging around. And it damn near bit the Bucs in the arse.

The Bucs, who held a 10-3 lead at halftime, were outscored 14-10 in the second half by a team that has lost 9 of its last 10 games. With a backup quarterback. A team that ought to have a top-five pick in the draft.

A good playoff team would have stomped on Arizona’s throats and put them out of their misery much earlier.

In Bucs coach Todd Bowles’ mind, a win is a win. It doesn’t matter by how much or against whom.

“Most of these games are tough in this league – they’re one-score games,” Bowles said yesterday. “We knew they were going to try to make a run. We couldn’t get the quarterback down before the half. I think he got out two or three times and we had hands on him, and we couldn’t get him down.

“Even on one of the touchdowns [where] [Jacoby Brissett] scrambled, we had two guys free and couldn’t get him on the ground. Credit to him – he made a play. …

“But the guys came out in the last series and they closed it out. Considering we lost the last three, that’s pretty good.”

That’s great that the defense rose up with a four-and-out — after Bowles chewed out his defense for not playing better — but it shouldn’t have come to that.

There was very little about the win on Sunday that made Joe think the Bucs’ troubles are in the past.

Oh, it was great to see Bucky Irving shake off the rust. It was great to see Chris Godwin look like Chris Godwin. Still, Joe has trouble believing Bowles can wave a magic wand and magically transform his defense.

It’s December. The next game will be played (fittingly?) on Pearl Harbor Day. Teams rarely change stripes in December. It’s slowly sinking in for Joe, unfortunately, that having a bad defense is just who the Bucs are in 2025.