Buccaneers expand on 'us against the world' mentality

Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles spoke during his Wednesday news conference about the club's "us against the world" mentality heading into this coming Sunday's divisional playoff game at the Detroit Lions.

"We've had that all year long," Bowles explained, as shared by the Buccaneers' website. "This is nothing new. Every time we go on the road, we feel like we're by ourselves and we've got nothing to prove but to ourselves. Our narrative is the one we write. We've been going by that mantra since we started the season — this is no different. Although it's a big game, the minute you stop doing the little things, you're going to make the mistakes and you're going to end up losing the ballgame."

Linebacker Devin White mentioned following Tampa Bay's 32-9 wild-card win over the Philadelphia Eagles that the Bucs — predicted by many ahead of the season to finish near the bottom of the league standings — are on a "revenge tour." Philadelphia defeated Tampa Bay in Week 3 of the regular season, and the Buccaneers were 3.5-point home underdogs against the Eagles for Monday's clash. 

Meanwhile, the Buccaneers lost 20-6 to the Lions at Raymond James Stadium in Week 6 back on Oct. 15. As of early Wednesday evening, DraftKings Sportsbook listed Tampa Bay as a six-point road underdog for this Sunday's encounter. 

"I think our mindset as a team is an underdog mindset, so it wouldn't really matter what people are saying on the outside," Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield added on Wednesday. "It's more of just the mentality that we have and that we carry."

Tampa Bay players seemingly had chips on both shoulders even before cornerback Carlton Davis declared during the summer that critics who believed the Buccaneers would fall apart following the retirement of Tom Brady were "going to be in for a rude awakening." Davis was proved right regardless of what happens at Ford Field this Sunday, but he and his teammates clearly feel they have more silencing to do.