TAMPA — The phrase "sense of urgency" is one of the most commonly used cliches in all of sports.
Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles was asked if his team feels a sense of urgency after losing three straight games. He responded by saying that every game is important, so the urgency already exists- every week.
"We’ve got to play smarter. Obviously, we want to start faster – we’ve been working on that, as well, doing certain things to do that. We understand that every game is valuable to us," Bowles explained at his mid-week news conference. "The importance of how we play and what we do is not even to be discussed. But we discuss all of this as coaches and as players and bring it up, but we’ve just got to focus back on the things we do well and not have the ‘M.E’s’ (mental errors) and understand what we’ve got to do to win."
Entering week nine, Tampa Bay ranks sixth in the NFL in total defense, and they lead the league in turnover margin (+8). They say they're not taking their foot off of the gas, and they're not using the word "desperation."
"We just gotta execute better on both sides of the ball. Just execute better, make more plays," said cornerback Carlton Davis III. "Gotta win, we just gotta win. We gotta wanna win. We gotta find ways to win. Regardless of who is the playmaker. Somebody has to be the one who wants to make the play to win the game."
Defensive lineman Vita Vea missed the last game due to a groin injury, but he still leads the team with 3.5 quarterback sacks. The sixth-year vet said this defense still has plenty of big plays to make as they try to get back in the win column.
"I think just everybody working together. Our communication and [head coach Todd Bowles] calling out the defense for us- to go out and execute and make plays," Vea said after practice. "I think the plays are out there to be made for all of us and for each one of us to go out there and take advantage of our plays to make.”
The Bucs (3-4) and the Texans (3-4) kick off Sunday at 1 p.m. from NRG Stadium in Houston. It's their first meeting in Houston since 2015, when the Texans won 19-9. The Texans lead the all-time series 4-1.
