Bowles says the answers to fixing the struggling Buccaneers defense lie in the locker room

TAMPA, Fla. – No Chris Godwin, no Mike Evans – and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers still had a big day offensively.

Instead, a normally reliable defense that appears to be getting worse as the season progresses cost the Bucs (4-4) in a 31-26 loss to the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.

“It starts with me. It starts with the defensive coaches and it starts with the players. We have to play better,” Bowles said, reflecting on a stretch in which the Bucs — a top-10 scoring defense a year ago when the Bucs won their third straight NFC South title — have surrendered 27 or more points in four consecutive matches. games.

‘We have to fix it. No one is coming to save us,” Bowles added. “We have to do much better than we are doing now, and that starts with me.”

In their first game since losing Godwin to season-ending ankle surgery and Evans with a hamstring injury for at least three games, the Bucs still racked up 394 yards of total offense. They have gained 1,469 yards over the last three weeks, but have still lost two of those games, dropping them from first place in the division.

The Falcons finished with 432 yards of total offense, with Kirk Cousins throwing for 276 yards and four touchdowns without an interception to beat the Bucs for the second time in less than a month. On October 3 in Atlanta, he passed for a career-high 509 yards with four touchdowns, outscoring Tampa Bay 36–30 in overtime.

The Bucs have lost four of six after a 2-0 start. Sunday’s defeat left them at 2-3 at home.

Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Drake London (5) is stopped by... — Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Drake London (5) is stopped by Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker KJ Britt (52) and safety Antoine Winfield Jr. (31) during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, October 27, 2024, in Tampa. Credit: AP/Chris O’Meara

Bowles was asked what he told his players after the game.

“I said we have to solve our problems. The problems are in the locker room, but the answers are in the locker room,” Bowles said. “From coaches to players, we have to stick together. We need to fix ourselves and we need to get moving.”

It won’t be easy, especially without their two best playmakers in attack.

The Bucs travel to Kansas City next Monday night to take on the defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs. They then return home the next day to take on last season’s Super Bowl runners-up, the San Francisco 49ers.