Todd Bowles explains why Buccaneers have had an 'edge' this season

Reporters and other members of the NFL community view Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield as a legitimate MVP candidate after he guided the club to five wins in six games to open the season. 

For a piece published Tuesday, Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles spoke with Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated and expanded on who is responsible for his team overcoming difficult challenges during the first third of the ongoing campaign.

Locker-room leaders have given 2025 Buccaneers a needed "edge"

"The maturity level of the older guys, making the young guys accountable with the way they come to work every day, has really been a joy to see," Bowles explained. "That really has been giving us the edge to scratch out games and fight for our lives. Now, even though the games are close, we don’t feel like we are fighting for our lives. We feel very confident, those guys feel very confident they can make plays to win the game. And there’s a lot of trust."

Offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs, star wide receiver Mike Evans and fellow wideout Chris Godwin are three veteran Tampa Bay players who were part of the roster that won Super Bowl LV in February 2021. All three have missed time this season due to injury, and Mayfield was without both Evans and Godwin (along with wideout Jalen McMillan) when rookie receiver Emeka Egbuka went down with a hamstring issue during Tampa Bay's 30-19 win over the San Francisco 49ers this past Sunday. 

Do Buccaneers have more "mental toughness" this fall?

Before Mayfield passed for 256 yards and two touchdowns against San Francisco, he led the Buccaneers to comeback wins four times in five contests. Bowles suggested such experiences will help Tampa Bay players deal with the expectations many outsiders now have for the club. 

"I mean, it’s really developing mental toughness," Bowles continued. “Understanding the work we’ve put in practice, especially in [two-minute drills], which we work diligently at, those guys get into the game and the moment’s not too big for them. They treat it just like practice, so the confidence level is high that they can execute because of the things they’ve seen in practice for so long. It’s really establishing toughness and understanding we feel like we have a chance to win every week."

The Buccaneers' next chance to notch a win will be when they play at the Detroit Lions (4-2) this coming Monday evening. As of Wednesday morning, ESPN BET had Tampa Bay as a 5.5-point underdog for that matchup.