HEAD COACH TODD BOWLES

(On allowing Houston Texans QB C.J. Stroud to throw for 500 yards and engineer a game-winning drive)

"We didn't play well – it's really that simple. We didn't play well. We've got to play it better, [and] we've got to coach it better."

(On saying the team has had a great week of practice and then losing on Sundays)

"You've got to carry it to the game. We practice hard all week, we practice [well] all week, and in the game, we've got to make plays. We've got to make plays, we haven't made them. It's been a struggle. It's been a struggle. We didn't play well yesterday at all – giving up too many big plays – I think there were nine big pass plays over coverages we have been doing since day one. It's not a communication thing. Sometimes you have to look yourself in the mirror – as a player, as a coach, as a team – and we're doing that. We're doing that today and we'll make sure it gets done."

(On why the defense is struggling over the last four weeks after being a main reason for the team's 3-1 start)

"Nothing specifically. This game in particular, it really fell apart. The other games we, were in, we had a shot to win, and holding it down pretty [well]. This game right here, especially in the second half, I think once the first play happened – the big play in the second half to Noah [Brown], I think – I think it kind of derailed a little bit… Then, calls we have been running since we've been here, everybody knows them, we've been through the situations a thousand times…We've got to coach it better, evidently, and we've got to play it better."

(On if the defensive issues are alignment, sight, or execution)

"All of it [falls] under execution. It all falls under that, and it's all things that we've done a million times. We've got to play it better, and evidently, we've got to coach it better."

(On why the defense is playing so much zone coverage)

"The last series, you're going to play zone when the game is on the line, so the clock can run out. You're not going to sit there and play man to give them a chance to throw a fade. We played man within that game and we got beat at man coverage too, so right now we get beat at both. It really doesn't matter which one we're playing, we just have to coach it and play it better."

(On the touchdown by the Houston Texans at the end of the game)

"We were in [cover] two, and we were in quarters [coverage]. We were in [cover] two most of the way, and we were in quarters [coverage] down at the red zone. [It was] something we've done every day, a route we've seen every time, [and] we just didn't make the play."

(On if the go-ahead touchdown was on CB Carlton Davis III)

"That was his man, that was his play right there."

(On if Davis was tired at the end of the game)

"No, he's not tired. Carlton is one of our players [that] we rely on. He had a bad day."

(On taking a timeout on the team's last offensive drive)

"It's exactly what you said: we wanted the time, not knowing if we going to score – we have more time if the ball was thrown out of bounds to line up and run another play."

(On DB Dee Delaney playing in place of S Ryan Neal)

"I think Dee did his job. He's a ballhawk. We try to get more ballhawk out there to get their hands on the ball a little bit more, so we made the change."

(On if Neal was benched because of his coverage on Noah Brown's 75-yard touchdown)

"It was part of the play, but [Dee] Delaney plays back better than Ryan does, and Ryan probably plays better in the box than Dee does."

(On how much pressure the Buccaneers were able to get on C.J. Stroud)

"I think in a four-man rush, we didn't have enough pressure at all. [When] we didn't blitz, we didn't get that much pressure – other than Shaq [Barrett]. Shaq got some pressure here and there, and [Calijah] Kancey made some plays, but we have to get more pressure from everyone else. I don't think that was good at all."

(On blitzing a lot in the first half but not blitzing much in the second half)

"Some of the dropbacks we had the lead and it was late. We blitzed in the third quarter and it burned us, so we went back to playing some more zone."

(On why he didn't bring pressure when the Texans were at the 10-yard line)

"There's a lot of thought, and usually that's the type of person I am. But, with the way we were playing, and some guys in certain situations, you didn't want to do it."

(On what the team is doing well defensively at the moment)

"Good question. They're playing hard. The communication is not very good, coverage has not been very good from a zone concept. [The] understanding taking from the game to practice or practice to the game has not been there. The effort is there, they want to win, they work hard, [and] they understand what to do. Coach communication to player has been there all the way throughout, we've just got to play better. We've got to coach better, and we've got to play better on Sunday, and we understand that. The last four weeks, we have not, whatsoever. We own that. We've got to look in the mirror. Players have got to look in the mirror, and coaches have got to look in the mirror. We're one game out of first place. We haven't won in it feels like quite a while, and it probably has been quite a while, and we have to do it better. We have nobody coming to save us. We have got to stay together in this building, we have to go out and work, and we have to put in on paper on Sunday."

(On how disappointing it is to have a defensive collapse when the offense put up 37 points)

"It's very disappointing, especially since they have been keeping us in games the past couple of weeks, but yesterday it fell apart. It was the offense's turn to play well and defense didn't play well. We've got to play well together."

(On considering letting Run Game Coordinator/Defensive Line Coach Kacy Rodgers or Pass Game Coordinator/Inside Linebackers Coach Larry Foote call defensive plays)

"I consider it all the time, but it's not the answer to the problems we have."

(On the reason for communication problems on the field)

"It's really not all communication, some people are just busting, and it's just as simple as that. We're saying communication, and we're putting a bow on it, but certain people [have] to play better. It's really that simple. It's not even really a communication issue for the most part, and it wasn't yesterday. We just [have] to play better. We can say it's communication all we want [but] some things don't even require communication, it requires playing better. [It is] things they've done a million times, and they've just got to do it."

(On allowing third-and-long conversions defensively)

"Well for some of it, the pass rush has got to get there too. When you're playing zone coverage and even man coverage, if you don't get the pass rush, the coverage isn't going to be as good, and vice versa. Some of it is tackling the screens – they had a screen backed up yesterday that we had tackles and angles on that we did not make."

(On if the lack of consistent pressure is the difference this season)

"I don't think it's been there consistently. The pass rush helps the coverage, the coverage helps the pass rush – they go hand in hand. It's all 11 guys and all the coaches involved on that side of the ball."

(On if he discusses the sense of urgency with the players as the division is still within reach)

"Right now, our urgency is to fix the things that went wrong yesterday and the past few weeks and get ready for Tennessee. All of that other stuff will come later."

(On if there is a concern that the coaches' messages are falling on deaf ears)

"No, it's not falling on deaf ears. We've got some very attentive guys and we've got some leadership in that room that take full responsibility, and they understand what we have to do as a team – that's getting across. We've just got to play better."

(On the flag called on LB Lavonte David at the end of the game)

"He was pissed off after the touchdown, he threw is helmet down, which you can't do, but I understand the frustration level."

-BUCCANEERS-