Buccaneers have one obvious, serious issue and it's a scary one

If you watch the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 50th Anniversary documentary on Prime Video, which encapsulates every era of Bucs' football since 1976, the one word that was uttered the most, outside of "family", was "accountability."

This era of Tampa Bay football has had its ups and downs in recent years, but in 2025, things seem to be coming unglued. The Bucs have lost two NFC South teams that are cellar-dwellers in the NFL, and those losses are included in having lost six of their last eight matchups.

There is obviously something missing from this iteration of the Buccaneers, and if you're paying attention to what is being expressed by the coaching staff and the players, it's the lack of accountability and leadership from the top down.

Bucs lack accountability & leadership

Dec 11, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach and defensive coordinator Todd Bowles Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

The culture in Tampa Bay doesn't change. It's been built over the years and has never wavered. However, things seem to have gone off the rails for the Bucs this season. Starting out as a gritty, grind-it-out underdog that always puts up a fight, the team has gone far away from that, as teams no longer fear them.

After the Bucs' most recent loss to the Atlanta Falcons, which dropped them to 7-7 on the season and in real danger of giving up the NFC South lead and playoff hopes, head coach Todd Bowles went on a f-bomb-riddled tirade about his players having to hold each other accountable and that they need to 'look themselves in the mirror'.

It's never a good sign when the head man is pushing the blame completely on his players, but it's hard to disagree with Bowles. However, I would say that Bowles and the rest of the coaching staff should take their own advice of looking in the mirror to determine what they are or aren't doing to hold themselves accountable as a staff.

While it is easy to blame Bowles for everything that has transpired this season, the boos and hate that he is receiving actually are a reflection of what product the players are putting out there on the field.

Yes, development, personnel and preparation all come into play from a coaching perspective, but week in and week out, the staff puts together the best game plan they possibly can. If the players are unable to play with decisiveness and execute the plan to a high level, then that falls on them. And if a player is not living up to the standard, his teammates must be able to hold him accountable for poor play, and that is not happening in Tampa Bay.

It is hard to imagine that a switch will be flipped within the Bucs' locker room that will somehow breathe leadership and accountability into this team as they hurdle towards the final weeks of the regular season. However, we have seen the Bucs climb out of whatever hole they have dug themselves before, and it most definitely needs to happen quickly, or the whole thing could come crashing to the ground with the futures of many in question.

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