August 31st, 2026
Again?
The Joes are split when it comes to guessing the Bucs’ record this fall.
Neither Joe is locked in yet, and will release their season-win guesses in an “Ira Kaufman Podcast” of the near future.
Over at The Athletic, Austin Mock thinks the Bucs, for the second time in KitKat-eating Bucs coach Todd Bowles’ tenure, will win the NFC South landfill with a losing record.
(Unlike many who will howl for Bowles’ head if that happens, Joe has a hunch that won’t be enough to send Bowles packing. A division winner automatically hosts a home playoff game and owners tend to like coaches who make them money.)
(Joe heard a stat over the weekend which, since the Bucs won the Super Bowl for the 2020 season, NFC South teams together have won just 35 percent of their games against teams outside the division. Joe is not sure if that is accurate or not.)
Mock has the Bucs winning eight games this year. And his colleague at The Athletic, Dan Pompei, thinks that estimate is too low.
The Bucs are capable of winning more games than they did one year ago, when they were 8-9 in a season when everything that could have gone wrong did. The Bucs won 10 games two years ago and are capable of a similar win total in 2026, especially considering the mediocre state of the NFC South. For them to exceed eight wins, they will need impact from rookie edge rusher Rueben Bain Jr., effective game planning and play calling from new offensive coordinator Zac Robinson, and better health. Having a motivated and slightly perturbed Baker Mayfield won’t hurt.
One of the reasons Mock thinks the Bucs will have a losing record is, he typed that the Bucs are too old. Joe’s not sure about that.
The offensive line is young. The running backs are young. The receivers are certainly young aside from Chris Godwin.
Defensive tackle, yeah, the Bucs are old. But not at outside linebacker and not at safety and surely not at corner.
Quarterback? Joe guesses you could say Baker Mayfield might be old, as it is never good to have a quarterback who takes a beating with his style of play the way Mayfield does, being on the wrong side of 30.
Joe believes the Bucs will sink or swim based on the defense, specifically the corners. For the Bucs to have a really good season, the three rookies who are expected to start, Rueben Bain, Josiah Trotter and Keionte Scott, are going to have to play like vets and find a way to power through the rookie wall.
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