TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Buccaneers look to avoid their first three-game losing streak since quarterback Tom Brady arrived in Tampa.
The Bucs have cooled off after a 6-1 start after back-to-back losses to the New Orleans Saints and Washington Football Team. At 6-3, head coach Bruce Arians says the team is still in a good position despite a frustrating few weeks.
“We’ve played to our potential just the last two weeks on the road we haven’t,” Arians said after practice Wednesday. “We are still in first place, we have a lot of good things going on as far as number one in pass offense and sacks, all things we are doing offensively and defensively, but there are things we have identified on the road that have cost us two ball games.”
Those things are turnovers and penalties. In the back-to-back losses, the Bucs have turned the ball over five times and committed 17 penalties for 142 yards.
“We got to put that work in. Everything we want is still in front of us,” linebacker Shaq Barrett said. “But it’s not going to be given to us. We got to take the coaching, put it on the field and execute everything we have to execute because it’s not going to be given to us at all. After being Super Bowl champs last year everyone is going to give you their best week in and week out. We have to be prepared for that.”
No player is more prepared than Brady. In his ten Super Bowl appearances, his team has a combined record of 42-5 after Thanksgiving weekend, including a 4-0 finish to the regular season last year for the Bucs’ title run.
“He never slows down. Some guys hit a grind, mentally he never hits that part,” Arians said. “Nobody around him is allowed to hit it on the practice field anyway. That record is amazing for any quarterback. The great ones have it.”
The Bucs will host the New York Giants (3-6) Monday at 8:15 p.m.
