Midseason swoons.
One NFL observer from CBS seems to believe the losses for the Bucs may mount earlier than usual in 2026.
In Weeks 7-12 of the past three seasons, the Bucs have averaged one win in those six weeks of the NFL calendar. One!
For whatever reason, KitKat-eating Bucs coach Todd Bowles’ Bucs teams are known for their midseason swoons. John Breech of CBS has a hunch this annual nosedive might begin Week 4 against the Packers.
The Bucs must have their annual hot start, per Breech, because Week 4 starts a gnarly stretch.
One bad thing for the Buccaneers: The Bucs better get off to a hot start, because things get a lot tougher in Week 4. The Bucs face the Packers at home that week, but then they have to follow that up with a Thursday road game in Dallas. As if that’s not bad enough, they have the Steelers, Panthers, Falcons and Bears after that. They’re just 2-5 in their past seven against the Falcons and the other three teams on the list all made the playoffs last year. If the Bucs can get to their Week 10 bye with a winning record, that would certainly be a moral victory.
Well, first off, going 2-5 in the last seven games against the farcical Dixie Chicks is appalling! A coach ought to be on the hot seat for that stat alone.
But for some reason, despite that hex the Dixie Chicks have on Bowles, Joe isn’t worried about Atlanta. Maybe because Joe has little to no respect for Kevin Stefanski. Joe never saw in the former Browns coach what so many others do. To Joe, the guy is the personification of mediocre.
And the slimy Saints? Again, Joe isn’t buying the hype. Tyler Shough, really? Why?
Joe also isn’t sweating the Steelers. Are we really to believe that retread coach Mike McCarthy will have a physical team like Mike Tomlin had? Besides, drama queen Aaron Rodgers hates playing in Florida and is always whining about the turf of The Licht House. It’s in his head.
The Bears? Yeah, Joe already has the Bucs eating an L in that game. When is the last time the Bucs played well in Chicago, forget the weather?
Joe looked it up: The Chucky-led Bucs beat the Bears Sept. 21, 2008 in overtime 27-24. The Bucs are 2-6 playing in the Second City this century.
So beating the Steelers at home is the key to that stretch Breech cites. If the Bucs lose to the Dixie Chicks or slimy Saints, or both, it could be a very long season.