If there are no challenges, how can one truly be tested? That has been this season for Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles. Despite a string of injuries, the coach was able to lead the Bucs to an impressive 6-2 record heading into their bye week. It wasn’t easy. Even former Bucs coach Bruce Arians was candid in his praise for Bowles.

During his recent appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, the former Coach was asked to make an All-NFL team and name the AFC and NFC coaches. For NFC, he mentioned Bowles and went on to add to the injury issues. For the AFC, he named Shane Steichen, who has been incredible with the players and especially quarterback Daniel Jones.

“In the NFC, I’ve got Todd Bowles. 6-2 with a plethora of injuries,” he said, “nobody needs the bye week more than they do right now, so those are my two coaches at the halfway point.”

The former coach has watched Bowles closely while he was on his coaching staff for two coaching job stints, with the Bucs and the Arizona Cardinals. While one might think that the coach chose Bowles, whom he knew well, that might not be correct. Arians has good reasons for his opinion.

The Bucs have struggled massively with injuries in the last few weeks. Wide receiver Mike Evans is ruled out for his broken collarbone, which he sustained in the game against the Detroit Lions during Week 7. He would have to undergo surgery.

Tackle Luke Haggard suffered a shoulder injury on October 12. And wide receiver Chris Godwin has also been absent from the games. He suffered a fibula injury in Week 5 against the Seattle Seahawks. Since then, he has missed three games. Running back Buck Irving is also dealing with his foot sprain.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have endured a brutal stretch of injuries through the 2025 season, testing their depth on both sides of the ball. The offensive line has been hit particularly hard; Luke Goedeke, Cody Mauch, and Ko Kieft have all been sidelined long-term, leaving the protection unit thin and forcing constant reshuffling.

On defense, Tampa Bay hasn’t fared much better. Lavonte David and Jamel Dean have missed time, while Calijah Kancey and David Walker remain on injured reserve. The absence of Vita Vea and Haason Reddick in recent weeks further compounds the challenge, weakening the front seven. With so many starters unavailable during the season, with Emeka Egbuka and Benjamin Morrison also nursing injuries, head coach Todd Bowles has been forced to lean on depth and flexibility to keep the Buccaneers’ playoff hopes alive.

The absence of the players was sure to cause chaos in the strategy. Despite that, Bowls managed to lead the team. While this makes a strong case for the coach to get recognition from the league, the Bucs would have to continue elevating themselves. Quarterback Baker Mayfield knows this well.

So after the win in Week 8, Mayfield decided to address the issues in the offense.

Baker Mayfield sent a strong message to the locker room

The quarterback had high praise for both the offense and defense despite the team’s injury issues. However, during the press conference, he added that the offense needs to match the defense’s level of play to keep the momentum going. “We’ll always take the wins, don’t get me wrong about that,” he said.

He didn’t shy away from calling out the unit’s recent issues, urging them to step up. “But offensively, that wasn’t nearly good enough or close to what we want it to look like,” he explained.

Injuries have played a part, but the issues have been evident in the last two games. While the offense averaged 27.5 points per game across the first six games, it averaged just 12.5 points. On the other hand, the defense was impressive in leading the team.

Mayfield couldn’t stop raving about the defensive players. The defense side also took many injury blows. Fortunately, the Bucs will get their much-needed rest in the bye week before gearing up to face the Kansas City Chiefs.