AT&T STADIUM (Arlington, Texas) – You get to 0-4 as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers did, it's easy to worry that soon, you might cost your head coach his job. The Glazer family, which owns the Bucs, has never fired a coach during a season. The Bucs hadn't been 0-4 since 2013, though, so there was a real urgency to get that first win out of the way, to change the narrative to something positive.
"I think everyone felt it," veteran left tackle Tristan Wirfs told me. The Buccaneers delivered in surprising fashion on Thursday night, not just beating the Cowboys but thoroughly outplaying them in a 24-16 road win. With the win, Bowles made an emphatic statement as he sat on what was perceived to be the hottest seat in the NFL: He can still lead an NFL team to victory.
This is only one win, but it's a first step for the Buccaneers to bounce back this season. That was a valid concern before Thursday's win, not only from the 0-4 start, but also a midseason collapse last season that had them lose seven of their last nine. Entering Week 5, that stretch was 11 losses in their last 13 games, which is a free-fall that many coaches don't get the chance to pull themselves up from.
It was easy to speculate that a bad loss on Thursday night, combined with the long weekend, might give ownership a window where there's more time to implement a difficult in-season change. Instead, the night ended with Buccaneers players in a relieved postgame locker room consistently giving credit to Bowles, not only for the defensive game plan that held the Cowboys to 14 points below their season average, but the focus to win under the most difficult of logistical circumstances. "It's a long way to climb out," Bowles said after the game.
"At the same time, we're upbeat, and if we play this hard and play this effective, we'll be OK. Bowles told the team the first quarter of the season was over after the 0-4 start. So, all they could do next was start fresh on the second.
It’s no surprise that a Bowles-coached team did it through defense. He also had two moments that showed he needed to improve both his decisions and his actions. Late in the first half, the Bucs lined up for a 61-yard field goal, but just before the snap, before kicker Chase McLaughlin put the ball through the uprights, the Bucs were flagged for delay of game.
Bowles said he had expected officials to "pump the clock" for more time, but he should have recognized they hadn’t and used one of his three time-outs to avoid a five-yard penalty that forced them to punt. Then, in the fourth quarter, the Bucs had a fourth-and-goal from the Cowboys’ 1-yard line with a 24-10 lead. A short, easy field goal would have made it a three-score game with 8:36 left, but Bowles chose to go for it, and running back Sean Tucker was stopped short.
Bowles said it was less than a yard and the Bucs had run the ball well, so he wanted to firmly put the game away. A field goal would have put Tampa Bay up 17 points, which is a three-possession game. Instead, Dallas drove 99 yards for a touchdown to pull within one score, although the Cowboys attempted a two-point conversion and failed to make it 24-16.
Dallas got the ball back and drove inside the Bucs’ 30 before Dak Prescott’s second interception of the game sealed the win. None of that matters if Bowles simply settles for the field goal. While Bowles could still be better, Buccaneers players backed him in the locker room after the game and credited him for the win.
The hope is that the lessons learned in victory can help as much as those that lead to a loss. "It feels good, but this is not it. We have to keep building," said outside linebacker Yaya Diaby, who got his first career interception on another deflection.
"I love this team. We're in the right mindset, we have the right guys and the right coaches. We just have to keep doing what we're doing." Thursday is only one win, but if the Bucs can beat the Cowboys on a short week on the road, they'll have a shot in 10 days to win at home against the Steelers.
After that, Tampa Bay gets divisional matchups against the Panthers and Buccaneers. Soon after the game against Pittsburgh, quarterback Baker Mayfield will be back. There’s a chance he still plays all six games against NFC South opposition this season.
Only one 0-4 team has ever bounced back to make the playoffs, but that won’t stop the Buccaneers from dreaming big. "We believe in ourselves, and better than belief, we know ourselves, and we know that we can handle anybody," corner Zyon McCollum said. Even before the win, the Buccaneers entered Week 5 only two games behind the NFC South-leading Panthers at 2-2.
It’s not an insurmountable deficit. Tampa Bay is 1-4, within two games of first in a bad division. Bowles has earned the right to coach his team as they try to do what only one NFL team has ever done, making the playoffs after an 0-4 start.
The pressure isn’t entirely off Bowles for this season, though. If Tampa Bay doesn’t make the playoffs, this could still be the season that costs him his job. For now, the immediate pressure is off Bowles with one win.
Whether he’s able to turn that one into more and potentially make a playoff push remains to be seen and will determine his future with the Buccaneers.
