Last season could be described in one phrase for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers: business as usual. The Bucs edged out their rivals to reclaim the NFC South for a fourth straight season and host another NFC Wildcard Playoff game.
Tampa Bay increased their win total from nine to 10, enough to win the South by two games. This all happened despite some midseason injury losses on both the offensive and defensive side.
Like the 2023 season, the Bucs managed to rally through a poor midseason stretch to go on a late run, winning six of their final seven games. While that process produced a positive end result for the team, head coach Todd Bowles wants the standards set higher heading into 2025.
Talking to reporters at the NFL's Annual League Meeting, he spoke on his team needing to find a "killer instinct."
"I feel good that we know how to win," Bowles said. "I don't feel good about us finishing the season from a playoff aspect, and [in] the middle of the season, having a drought two years in a row.
"We've got to play not even better football at the end, but we've got to have killer instinct. We've got to try to blow people out and try to win the division instead of it going down to the last week."
Bucs fans would certainly appreciate such a change of pace. Tampa Bay needed help to climb out of another hole they dug with a late loss to the lowly Dallas Cowboys and clawed back from a 10-point halftime deficit against the New Orleans Saints in the regular season finale.
Now there is also some further context to be had here, given the Bucs lost Chris Godwin for the year midseason and Mike Evans exited the lineup at the same time.
But Bowles' harsh assessment of his truth is not off-base either. The Bucs have controlled the South for four years. That reign should be accompanied by a matching sense of domination.
Related: Bucs Rank with Super Bowl Chance for 3 Reasons Per ESPN
Going down to the wire with relatively inferior rivals and banking on the help of opposing teams does not mark that reality at all. Both players and coaches must be more committed to instilling that mindset moving forward.
Luckily, the Bucs have a group in place plenty capable of making these changes and can add to it with another strong showing in the upcoming NFL Draft.
Tampa Bay has shown an ability to progress in the win column year by year under Bowles. Perhaps the next step not only means an increase in the win column, but an overall advancement in the product on the field.
Related: Bucs Coach Todd Bowles Reveals 'Tweaks' Necessary to Get Better
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This story was originally published April 2, 2025 at 4:14 PM.