{"id":410532,"date":"2026-09-25T17:54:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-25T17:54:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/410532\/"},"modified":"2026-09-25T17:54:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T17:54:12","slug":"whos-really-to-blame-for-the-bucs-new-levels-of-suck","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/410532\/","title":{"rendered":"Who’s really to blame for the Bucs’ new levels of suck?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"QuarterbackBaker Mayfield Credit: Tori Richman\/Tampa Bay Buccaneers<\/a><\/p>\n

Are the Bucs been the worst team in football? Are they back to being the Yucks? I don\u2019t know if that last one is quite true. It\u2019s still early, but so far this season they\u2019ve been one of the worst teams in professional football for sure.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s plenty of blame to go around, and a lot of these are interchangeable (especially 1-3), but I just sort of threw them in the order I thought was best.\u00a0<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll start at the most obvious one, but unfortunately also probably the least likely and hardest to replace:<\/p>\n

1. Baker Mayfield<\/p>\n

God, this guy has really been bad. He has the most throws behind the line of scrimmage this season. He just can\u2019t push the ball down the field anymore with any accuracy, and it really sucks.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He went from a fun little chip-on-the-shoulder guy to being an annoying, overpaid QB who gets outplayed by Deshaun Watson and Quinn Ewers over a 4-game stretch spanning 2 seasons.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been egregious to watch. His horrid performance Sunday was capped off with an overthrow of Emeka Egbuka, who was open in the end zone.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This is not to say he\u2019s the only reason the Bucs have been bad (trust me, we\u2019ll get to the others), but when you\u2019re making $55 million a year and complained about not being labeled a \u201cfranchise QB\u201d in the offseason, the standards and expectations change.\u00a0<\/p>\n

2. Todd Bowles<\/p>\n

He\u2019s probably the easiest guy on this list to replace, and the most likely to go. Even the Glazers and Jason Licht have to begrudgingly admit things have been going south for far too long now.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He might not get let go during the season, although if things keep going this poorly, who\u2019s to say? But he\u2019d be a very likely candidate to be fired pretty much right after the end of the season.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There\u2019s still a small chance the Bucs turn things around and somehow make the playoffs, but of course that\u2019s unlikely, and if they just miss the postseason, maybe the team convinces itself to keep him around. But after last season\u2019s meltdown, I highly doubt it. <\/p>\n

Back to Bowles being bad, though: he\u2019s got the defensive head coach label, and his defenses have never been good. I can\u2019t say with absolute certainty it\u2019s always been his fault, as the team has run some truly horrid rosters out there on that side of the ball, but this is the first season where it seems like a failure across the board.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The players aren\u2019t playing well, yes, but Bowles is now crossing the line of incompetence. He\u2019s not just bad at developing defensive talent; it\u2019s gotten to the point where he\u2019s now actively putting players in positions to fail.\u00a0<\/p>\n

3. Alex Anzalone<\/p>\n

He\u2019s the WORST LINEBACKER IN FOOTBALL. He\u2019s making SIRVOCEA DENNIS look like a valid option. Honestly, he could be number one on this list; he\u2019s been THAT bad.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Bucs have been getting picked apart over the middle of the field. For once, their secondary seems actually competent! Benjamin Morrison has been one of the best cornerbacks in football; that should be a fun story!<\/p>\n

Instead, all anyone can talk about on the defense is how Anzalone is going to go down as one of the worst free agent signings in Bucs history, and that\u2019s saying something. They\u2019ve had some real stinkers, like Anthony Collins. <\/p>\n

What\u2019s such a bummer about Anzalone is that it seemed like the Bucs got a real steal at a position of dire need. He was a good coverage guy who could provide some veteran leadership alongside the young additions to the front seven.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Instead, he\u2019s got Bucs fans losing their minds, and in some cases (emphasis on SOME) it\u2019s justified.<\/p>\n

3. Ben Bredeson<\/p>\n

I know it seems harsh putting the left guard at number 4 on this list. Yeah, it\u2019s not kind of me, sorry Ben, but he\u2019s been one of the worst offensive linemen in football.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Bucs\u2019 o-line last year was bad, with Cody Mauch being out all season and them having to rotate guys across the line and in and out of the lineup due to injuries.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And now, they have everyone there. There aren\u2019t any excuses. They\u2019ve just been bad. Mauch is no longer the beast I worry about the Bucs being able to re-sign. He\u2019s been a problem, too, but Bredeson is outright awful.\u00a0<\/p>\n

So it sucks. Bredeson was brought in as a valuable veteran to anchor what is still a somewhat young offensive line, but he\u2019s now the guy dragging everyone else down.\u00a0<\/p>\n

5. The pass rush<\/p>\n

I\u2019m going to just have a whole position group because they\u2019ve sucked shit. Rueben Bain Jr. is either hurt or showing people why he fell to number 15 (or both). It\u2019s tough, because he\u2019s a young rookie who still has time, but he was considered a dark-horse DROY candidate. Nope.\u00a0<\/p>\n

YaYa Diaby hasn\u2019t been helped by Bain\u2019s lack of presence, but he hasn\u2019t been good either. The Bucs entire defensive line, what was thought of as a group with a really high ceiling, has shown what their floor looks like (below the floor, not quite the core, but probably the lower mantle).\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a bummer, because a good pass rush could\u2019ve covered up for some of the holes throughout the rest of the defense (like that former Gator they\u2019ve got running around the middle of the field like a chicken with his head cut off).\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ah, well. It\u2019s a Bucs life.<\/p>\n

Pitch in to help make the Tampa Bay Journalism Project a success.<\/a><\/p>\n

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This article appears in Sept. 24 \u2013 30, 2026<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n

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