Are Buccaneers panicking amid latest in-season swoon after loss to Bills?

On Sunday, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers suffered a third loss in four tries when they endured a 44-32 defeat at the Buffalo Bills that dropped Tampa Bay to 6-4 on the season. 

After the game, Buccaneers safety Antoine Winfield Jr. was asked if he and others in the locker room are concerned that the club is in the middle of an in-season swoon for the third consecutive fall. 

Buccaneers trying to handle "ebbs and flows" of season

"Not necessarily," Winfield responded, per the JoeBucsFan website. "That’s just the ebbs and flows of how the season goes."  

The 2023 Buccaneers won three of their first four games before they ultimately fell to 4-7. The following season, Tampa Bay went from 4-2 to 4-6. In the end, both of those squads qualified for the playoffs. 

Following Tampa Bay's 28-23 home loss to the New England Patriots on Nov. 9, Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield said he felt the offense lacked a "killer instinct" that afternoon. On Sunday, Buffalo quarterback and reigning Most Valuable Player Josh Allen tallied three passing touchdowns and three rushing scores. 

"We’re kind of on a skid right now," Tampa Bay offensive lineman Graham Barton acknowledged. "We’ve got to execute better in situations, but I don’t think we’re in a lull by any means. I thought we were doing some good things. The mindset’s there. The intent is there. Like, I was really proud of the way we came out today. We just didn’t get it done. You know, hopefully we’ll continue to get healthy and get some guys back, and just continue to push this thing and finish out strong."

Was Baker Mayfield annoyed with Buccaneers' energy vs. Bills?

Mayfield hasn't been shy about calling the Buccaneers out regarding the team allegedly lacking energy at points in the season. While speaking with reporters after Sunday's loss, he sounded pleased with how Tampa Bay battled at Buffalo's Highmark Stadium.

"I think the fight was there," Mayfield said. "The toughness, the fight was there. It just came down to not making enough plays. And so, that’s one of those things, come out of this game really disappointed because guys fought hard, thought there were great plays within the game, throughout the game."

Things get no easier for the Buccaneers ahead of Thanksgiving, as they will next play at the red-hot Los Angeles Rams (8-2) this coming Sunday night. As of Monday morning, ESPN BET had Tampa Bay as a 6.5-point underdog for that matchup.