TAMPA, Fla. — About one month ago, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had a 4-6 record, and there was panic outside the locker room.
But since they’re Week 11 bye, the Bucs are riding a four-game winning streak and have a one-game lead over the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC South.
Tampa Bay is garnering national attention after its 40-17 win over the Los Angeles Chargers, while quarterback Baker Mayfield was named the NFC Offensive Player of the Week.
Head coach Todd Bowles has his way of keeping the team humble.
“We didn’t listen when we were losing, we’re not listening now that we’re winning,” Bowles said. "We have enough sarcastic coaches and sarcastic players to insult people to keep everyone grounded.”
“They’ve been talking about my mustache a lot,” rookie receiver Jalen McMillan said. “It’s all good. I take it with a grain of salt.”
“You have to have thick skin to be around our group,” Mayfield added. “Anybody can get it anytime, anywhere. Doesn’t matter who it is. That’s the best part about the group.”
This group will try to continue their “road warriors” mentality on Sunday night at Dallas. The Bucs are 5-2 away from home, and their only losses have come in overtime.
“Honestly just the way we practice,” McMillan said of their road success. “Practice gets intensified during the week. We’ve been doing a really good job of that. It’s been carrying over to the game.”
“We understand what we are going into, into ‘Jerry’s World,’” defensive back Zyon McCollum said. “It’s going to be a lot of talk in the media and a lot of bright lights. If we just swarm and throw the first punch, then we’ll go from there.”
It may be nothing more than a coincidence, but over the last two seasons, the Bucs are a combined 0-5 in games played in prime time.
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