Bowles: Buccaneers must 'play better' after 10th loss in 12 games

Tampa Bay fell 23-16 to Minnesota for its third loss in a row, lost Baker Mayfield to a thumb injury on his throwing hand, and heard Todd Bowles refuse to single anyone out.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost 23-16 to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, their third consecutive defeat to begin the season and the club's 10th loss over its past 12 games. Tampa Bay is now winless through three games, a slump that reaches back into last season and has left fans in Tampa increasingly frustrated with the direction of the team.

The defeat came with an added concern: quarterback Baker Mayfield injured the thumb on his throwing hand during the loss to Minnesota. No details about the severity of the injury were provided in the game's immediate aftermath.

The losing streak put head coach Todd Bowles in front of difficult questions after the final whistle. A reporter opened by telling him that Buccaneers fans are wondering "what is going on with this franchise" after 10 losses in 12 games, then asked for his first explanation for the slide.

Bowles said he had none, instead spreading responsibility across the roster and the staff. "I don't have an explanation for that, we just have to do more and play better," the coach replied. "To a man, to a coach and everybody else, we've got to play better and we've got to do more."

The reporter pushed back, reminding Bowles that the struggles carried over from a year ago. Bowles accepted the point but drew a line at the start of the new season. "We understand that, but it's this season now; nothing counts from last year, no matter who you are," he said. "We win as a team, we lose as a team. We're not going to throw anybody under the bus."

The record explains the unease in Tampa. The Buccaneers opened last season at 5-1 and looked like a strong football team, but they have produced only three wins since that point. Their most recent victory came in the final game of last season, a meeting with the Carolina Panthers.

Measured across the club's last 14 NFL games, Bowles has guided Tampa Bay to just three wins in that span. A stretch that began with such promise a year ago has become a prolonged downturn for the franchise.

The slow start has come despite heavy offseason investment in the roster. Tampa Bay entered the year with high expectations after signing Mayfield to a three-year, $165 million extension and adding defensive tackle Vita Vea on a one-year, $24 million deal, moves that raised hopes for the campaign.

Although the season has not unfolded as the team hoped, Tampa Bay can still turn things around and make a run at its division. The next opportunity comes against the Green Bay Packers, who are themselves coming off a tough loss to the Atlanta Falcons, with the Buccaneers still chasing their first win of the campaign.