What Buccaneers HC Todd Bowles loved from surprising playoff run

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' campaign ended with a hard-fought 31-23 divisional playoff loss at the Detroit Lions this past Sunday, but head coach Todd Bowles is nevertheless focusing on the positive steps taken by the franchise amid what became a surprising postseason run. 

"As a team, anything short of the Super Bowl is not a success," Bowles explained during an appearance on the Buccaneers Radio Network, per the JoeBucsFan website. "But, from a toughness standpoint, an effort standpoint and a togetherness standpoint of how we’ve grown throughout the year, that part you love."

Bowles did well before and during the season to get his players to embrace "revenge tour" and "us against the world" mentalities after many predicted Tampa Bay would become a last-place team following the retirement of future Hall of Famer Tom Brady. 

While the Buccaneers lost six of seven games during the fall to drop from 3-1 to 4-7, they ultimately earned five wins across six contests to claim the division title. Tampa Bay then smashed the Philadelphia Eagles 32-9 in the wild-card round of the playoffs before the Bucs gave the Lions a real scare at Detroit's Ford Field.

"I just talked to them about, you know, our goals falling short of the Super Bowl, but at the same time I love the toughness," Bowles revealed about what he said to his players following the defeat in Detroit. "Nobody pointing fingers, the way we stood together all year, the way guys picked each other up, the way we fought through adversity and came out and had a chance [against the Lions]. We just gotta get better next year." 

As recently as late Tuesday morning, NFL insider Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk wrote that "there’s no reason to believe Bowles is in trouble" regarding his job even though some have linked the Buccaneers with six-time Super Bowl champion head coach Bill Belichick. 

Considering what many thought of this Tampa Bay roster back in August, Bowles deserves a chance to run it back with the organization in 2024 even though a living legend such as Belichick is available.