The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have played three games in December this season, and they won them all. This is not a new phenomenon specific to the 2024 team; Tampa Bay has found a way to heat up late in the season this entire decade. Since 2020, the Buccaneers are 20-5 in regular season games played in December and January; the only team with more wins and a better winning percentage in those months is Buffalo.
According to Head Coach Todd Bowles, one reason the Buccaneers of recent vintage have consistently been able to play better ball late in the season is because they have relied heavily on young players and those young players have developed noticeably as the season has progressed. That's particularly true of Bowles' team the last two years, which has gone 9-1 in December and January.
"For us, I know especially in the last two years, we've been playing a lot of younger guys and our veterans on the team do a great job of holding these guys accountable," said Bowles. "We know they're going to make some mistakes in the beginning of the season and the first half of the season, but the second half of the season, we expect these guys to come around. They'll be seasoned, they understand how to be pros, they understand how to play through injuries, they understand the assignment and they understand the scheme that we're trying to pull off.
"I think it's the maturity of the players – the young guys, it's the maturity of the vets that are helping them along, and the coaching staff does a great job getting these guys ready to play. I think it's all of the above. I can't speak for everybody else in the league, but for our team, that has a big part to do with it."
On defense, the Bucs are giving meaningful snaps to rookie safety Tykee Smith, rookie edge rusher Chris Braswell and second-year players Calijah Kancey, Yaya Diaby, Christian Izien and Kaevon Merriweather. Cornerback Zyon McCollum is in his first full year as a starter. J.J. Russell and Logan Hall, both third-year players, are getting significantly more snaps than in previous years. On offense, rookie wide receiver Jalen McMillan is coming on strong in the second half, while center Graham Barton and running back Bucky Irving, also 2024 draft picks, have been big contributors all along. Cody Mauch has taken a big step forward in his second season.
Throughout his six-year tenure as first the Bucs' defensive coordinator and then the head coach, Bowles has consistently said that he and his coaching staff are not afraid of playing rookies. On Monday, Bowles said that teams don't have the luxury of sitting young players for a while anymore, and that a seven-man draft class had better have at least four players who immediately become significant contributors. Sometimes it's not always the Day One plan to thrust a rookie into the spotlight, but injuries often make that a necessity. Merriweather, for instance, is starting at safety at the moment because the Bucs are without Antoine Winfield Jr., Jordan Whitehead and Mike Edwards. Merriweather nearly had an interception against the Raiders in Week 14 and he recovered a fumble in Sunday's win over the Chargers.
"You know something's going to happen, there's going to be injuries, there's going to be something that goes wrong, there's going to be something off the field that goes wrong, but preparing for it, and then understanding it and taking the body blows is part of football," said Bowles. "It's something you have to do as an athlete and definitely as a coach. We prepare for it, we talk about it, we practice that way. We practice with guys that [are] one step away from playing and everybody understands the mission once they get in there. Those guys have done a great job of filling in when they got their chances."
Bowles said the Buccaneers' staff starts training rookies how to be professionals as soon as they enter the building. They get exposed to potential game situations on the practice field hoping they will be ready for them the first time they see them in a game. It isn't a 100 percent hit rate in that endeavor, but it tends to get better as the season progresses.
McMillan is a good example. In the first three games he played after Chris Godwin went down with a dislocated ankle in Week Seven, the third-round pick had seven catches for 71 yards and no touchdowns. (He missed two games of his own in that span due to injury.) In the last two games, in a role that clearly has him as the Bucs' number-two receiver alongside Mike Evans, McMillan has caught nine passes for 134 yards and three touchdowns.
"[It's] nothing like playing in the games but they get those situations, they see the guys in front of them," said Bowles. "And when you think about it – midseason, we went through some trials and tribulations the first couple weeks before our Bye, and afterwards, they matured, they're finishing plays, they're doing everything the right way and it's helping pay off. Our coaches do a great job of getting these guys ready."
