[](https://www.joebucsfan.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Bowlesrightfield.png)Todd Bowles has done a hell of a job getting the Bucs to 5-2 while navigating several injuries on both sides of the ball and incorporating rookies, including a first-time playcaller.
There are no six-win teams in the NFC. Bowles deserves an ovation.
The NFL is a real-time kind of league. For a majority of coaches and players, one day you’re riding high and the next day the national hype machine bounces you from the club. Fans and local media will shift, too, though not as fast.
And now the Bucs are heading to New Orleans to face the sad Saints, a 1-6 team with third-tier quarterback play and a-trying-real-hard defense that _might_ find its way to being average soon.
New Orleans has allowed an average of 24 points through the past four games. The NFL average is about 22 points allowed per game.
The Saints do not have a good kicker but their return game — punts and kickoffs — is dangerous.
They’re a poor football team, but one that is playing hard and is not a mess like the Jets or Dolphins.
Simply put, Bowles has to win Sunday. He must tbeat back whatever caused a midseason swoon for his previous three Bucs teams. There is no excuse to lose to New Orleans. Joe tried to think of one but had no luck.
Joe has heard some fans say Sunday’s Bucs game is the slimy Saints’ Super Bowl: The Saints hate the Bucs as much as the Bucs hate them, and the Saints believe they can compete after leading Tampa Bay in the fourth quarter of Week 18 last season — in Tampa.
Joe countered by saying this is more of a Super Bowl for Todd Bowles. If the Bucs win, Bowles officially became a better coach by beating back a potential midseason implosion.
If the Bucs beat the Saints on Sunday, Tampa Bay could lose its next three games after the bye week (Patriots, Rams and Bills) and still have a 6-5 record entering the soft stretch of their schedule.
Joe is not adopting a loser mentality, only noting how critical Sunday’s division game is. If the Bucs can’t beat the Saints, well, that just can’t happen.
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