The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are flailing -- and fans and journalists are beginning to point fingers as to who is to blame.
In the NFL, it often starts with the head coach, and that means first-year man Todd Bowles has come under increasing scrutiny amid a slump that has seen Tampa Bay drop three in a row and five out of six.
To be sure, there are contributing factors beyond Bowles' control. The revamped offensive line might be the biggest culprit. A receiving corps long in the tooth has been bitten by the injury bug, and 45-year-old quarterback Tom Brady appears to be declining while also dealing with upheaval in his personal life.
Still, the Bucs' defense has also taken a big step back, and that was supposed to be Bowles' area of strength given his pedigree as a defensive coordinator.
Taken in total, and the Bucs have fallen to just 3-5 in their first eight games, marking the first time a Brady-led team has even been two games under .500 and his first three-game losing streak since his second professional season in 2002.
Bowles, 58, is in his second stint as a head coach, after an underwhelming four-year stint with the Jets from 2015-18. He was promoted from defensive coordinator in the offseason, when former head coach Bruce Arians transitioned into a front-office role, reportedly as part of a power play by Brady.
Bowles' second crack at being a head coach was supposed to go much better than his time in New York, where his supporters said he was set up to fail with an inept Jets franchise. In Tampa, he inherited a team two years removed from a Super Bowl title and coming off a 13-4 regular season.
But this year's Bucs squad already has more losses than they did a season ago, when they were barely beaten by the eventual champion Rams in the Divisional Playoffs.
All that being said, there is a clear path for Tampa Bay to right the ship (no pun intended). The NFC South is arguably the NFL's weakest division, and even going 5-4 in their final nine games could very well lock up a division title and a home game in the Wild Card round. With Brady under center, there are worse positions to be in.
Still, the current situation is bleak. Is Bowles to blame? Obviously that is an oversimplification of the situation, but social media is not known for its nuance. Here's what some users were saying during and after the Bucs' home loss to the Ravens on Thursday Night Football in Week 8:
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