The Bucs’ biggest failure this season was defending Todd Bowles

TAMPA — Chris Godwin is out after spraining his ankle. Mike Evans will miss at least three games with a hamstring injury.

If the Bucs lose to Atlanta on Sunday, their chances of winning the NFC South will be greatly diminished as they will be crushed by the Falcons. In fact, they can expect a four-game losing streak in next week’s Monday game against Kansas City, followed by a visit from the 49ers on November 10.

But these injuries would only become a convenient excuse. The real letdown of the season was Todd Bowles’ defense.

He has over 500 yards rushing twice in the last three games (for the Falcons and Ravens). The Bucks rank 31st in total defense (386 yards per game), 29th in pass defense (254 yards per game) and 28th in scoring (26 points per game).

Enemies perform powerful actions on the ground and in the air.

“That was never our intention,” defensive coordinator Kacy Rodgers said. The point is that we need to eliminate errors. The mistakes we (make) are huge. It’s not 15 yards (fault), it’s 51, it’s 80. We make some really big deals in certain situations. From a coaching standpoint, you’re in some pretty bad situations where you can’t cope. This is where we need to clean everything up.

It will take more than a mop and a bucket. The Bucks need to make changes, and Bowles has always been slow to adjust his lineup.

The Bucs in particular have a problem in the middle of their defense. This is where passing yards are allowed. If you dig into the details, the problem lies with linebackers KJ Britt and Lavonte David.

Speaking of which, what happened that Antoine Winfield Jr. and Jordan Whitehead were the best running back tandem in the NFL?

Let’s say the obvious first. Bowles’ plan for the season was to platoon linebacker KJ Britt with SirVocea Dennis. This proved true during the victory in Detroit. But Dennis he underwent shoulder surgery and is eliminated from the regular season.

Last week, Britt, David and Winfield used 100% of their defensive snaps.

Britt is a downhill enthusiast, but has major issues with coverage, whether it’s zone or person-to-person. He is the lowest-rated middle linebacker in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus. He allowed 16 catches on 20 targets (80%) for 184 yards and a touchdown. Of that total, 114 yards came after the catch, which the Falcons do particularly well.

“They grab and run,” Rodgers said. “A 5-yard pass will turn into an 18, and now these things just get to you. The thing is, they’re going to catch some balls, but we have to be able to knock them down when they catch the ball. That was kind of our problem.

David is arguably one of the greatest players in Bucs history and has a resume worthy of Pro Football Hall of Fame recognition. However, at the age of 34, he is no longer as good at coverage as he was two or three years ago. According to Pro Football Focus, David had 299 yards in coverage and completed 31 of 37 passes against him. That’s more passing yards for cornerbacks Zyon McCollum and Jamel Dean.

Bowles should at least consider finding another running back – JJ Russell or Antonio Grier – to join the passing platoon with Britt.

“It wasn’t all his fault,” Bowles said of Britt. “I mean, there were a lot of guys that should have been there and doing certain things in that aspect, but we have different packages that we try to use in certain games. Guys either got cut or injured or it just wasn’t the right time to use them, but we’re willing to do a lot of things. But it definitely wasn’t all him.

It’s a team game where passing speed and marking must go hand in hand. But no matter how poorly the Bucs’ middle linebackers played, the bigger eye-opener is the performance of Whitehead and Winfield in coverage.

Winfield had trouble recovering from a touchdown on an Oct. 13 comeback at New Orleans and was sacked. But he and Whitehead did total only four passes defended and no interceptions.

“The most important thing on defense is you have to communicate,” Rodgers said. “If someone pulls you out, someone else has to stop. Communication is key. In some situations we just have to play better. You sit here and think, “That was a pretty good decision that didn’t work out in your favor in the end.” I think we gave up the 59-yard bomb – he probably should have been sacked before that bomb. This is our story now. We kind of have to get out of our own way.

When the Bucs signed Whitehead, Bowles said communication would no longer be an issue because the Bucs had trusted people on both sides of the field keeping him safe. But Rodgers and others still lament the lack of communication.

The storyline of Sunday’s game will revolve around the defeat of Godwin and Evans. I don’t want to downplay their importance, but the biggest obstacle to the Bucks’ victory is their poor defense.

“Definitely,” Rodgers said. – Anyway, it’s a team game. We need more from defense week after week, regardless of who plays offense. With both Mike and Chris missing and not just relying on these two players, the defense needs to step up and play.

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