TAMPA, Fla. – It’s already the year of the upset in the NFL, and the Bucs want to make sure they aren’t included in that after Sunday’s game against the Broncos. Bucs head coach Todd Bowles is preaching that.
“This is a big game for us,” Bowles said. “We’ve only played two games. We can’t look ahead for anything. We’re not good enough.”
Tampa Bay has started 2-0 with wins over the Washington Commanders and the Detroit Lions. The Bucs were favored to beat the Commanders, but the win over the Lions was an upset and hostile environment.”
Read: Bucs Secure Very Satisfying 20-16 Victory Over Lions In Week 2
The Bucs have started 2-0 the past four years in a row but haven’t gotten to 3-0 since 2005.
After this one, the Bucs have the Eagles, Falcons, and Saints. The Broncos are just the opposite, coming to Raymond James Stadium 0-2 with a rookie quarterback, Bo Nix, who’s been struggling.
“I don’t really look at it like a rookie quarterback,” Bowles said. “I look at the team in general, and it’s about stopping the entire team. If you just look at one guy, you’re going to get killed in this league.”
Read: Tampa Bay Bucs’ Baker Mayfield Has Not Forgotten The Losses To The Lions Last Season
The Broncos have started 0-2 for the second straight year under head coach Sean Payton. Payton is the one that elected to move on from quarterback Russell Wilson and with that comes a big price tag, roughly $80 million in dead cap money. But Bowles isn’t one to criticize Payton.
“I think Sean is very good at building the team around what he has,” Bowles said. He can coach a lot of different (kinds of) football a lot of different ways. He’s a very bright, very sharp guy.”
The Bucs are favored by a touchdown. Kickoff is 1:00 pm Sunday in Tampa.
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