Todd Bowles Gives His Verdict on Buccaneers' Pass Rush vs. Bengals

Here's what Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles had to say about an ailing pass rush from Sunday's game.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles against the Kansas City Chiefs during the first half at Raymond James Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were hoping to see a lot of things during their first game of the season against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 1. First and foremost was a win, which didn't happen — the Bucs dropped their game 33-27 to start 0-1.

It was also the first game that the Bucs could see some of the new revamped position corps they built in the offseason, though.

Perhaps the most important one was the team's edge-rushing room, which the team overhauled by drafting edge rusher Rueben Bain Jr. in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft, signing Al-Quadin Muhammad in free agency and getting second-year player David Walker back after he injured himself before playing a snap in 2025.

Head coach Todd Bowles hoped to see his pass rush vastly improved, but that didn't happen in Week 1 whatsoever. The Bucs massively struggled to get anything going, pressuring Joe Burrow on just seven of his snaps during the Week 1 loss, per PFF. Bain and Diaby were largely stonewalled in the effort, and rotational edge rushers Muhammad and Anthony Nelson didn't do much, either.

Bowles spoke to the media on Monday and when asked about the pass rush from the edge, he had a few critiques.

Todd Bowles Says Buccaneers Pass Rush Must 'Work Together'

Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Rueben Bain Jr. (3) during the first half against the Kansas City Chiefs | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Bowles said that the pass rushers in Tampa Bay appeared to be trying to play for themselves as opposed to playing as an individual unit, and the whole pass rush suffered as a result.

"I don't think it was very good for the fact that we didn't work together," Bowles said. "I thought they tried to be too many individuals up there. For us to be effective, we've got to work together."

The Bucs were hoping Diaby and Bain would be a dynamic duo this upcoming season, with both players feeding off the other one. Bain was expected to bring serious pressure after impressing in the preseason, and Diaby told reporters this offseason that he was working on his ability to finish sacks.

That didn't happen in practice — at least so far. There's still time to improve, but Bowles continued to harp on the need for cohesiveness while saying that Bain took what he called a "step back" mentally on Sunday.

"Again, we can play better. We can play better. I don't think they were the sharpest," Bowles said. "I thought Yaya played hard. I thought Bain played [hard]…He probably took a step back in terms of the mental aspect of it, but that comes with working together with everybody else in the pass-rush game as well, and we've got to do a better job up front at that."

The Buccaneers will have the chance to show off the pass rush again in Week 2, when they play the Cleveland Browns' offensive line at home. The team needs a bounce-back after its Week 1 loss, and Bain, Diaby and the rest of the edge rushing room will try to help see it through on Sept. 20.

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