Bucs coach Todd Bowles.

This is not the sort of surprise Bucs fans were expecting or bracing themselves for.

Oh sure, Bucs coach Todd Bowles has a midseason swoon every year. And then after four or five games the Bucs bounce back and finish strong.

Now? Well, the Bucs have yet again had their midseason swoon. Unlike the previous seasons, Bowles hasn’t found a way (yet) to get the pirate ship righted and pointed in the right direction.

Even with the cavalry arriving last Thursday in Mike Evans and Jalen McMillan, while the offense looked so much better, it was still the same ol’ Bowles defense that, when needed, can’t stop anyone, not even a backup on a losing team out of the playoff hunt.

Bucs fans have absolutely erupted since and Joe cannot blame them. Looking from her perch in the greater New York City area, Judy Batista of NFL.com lists the collaspe of the Bucs as one of her top surprises as teams jockey for playoff positions.

And still, the Bucs are not yet out of the playoffs.

The Bucs’ collapse. The three-game losing streak that swallowed November was understandable. The Bucs were battered by injury, and they were facing three of the best teams in the league. What is “inexcusable” — Todd Bowles’ word from Thursday night — is losing a 14-point, fourth-quarter lead to the Falcons, who have already been eliminated from playoff contention and who were penalized 19 times, on a night when superstar wide receiver Mike Evans returned and had 132 receiving yards. That followed a similarly unfathomable loss to the New Orleans Saints, also at home. The Panthers also blew a chance to take over first place Sunday with their loss to the Saints, so the Bucs still hold the lead in the division. The Bucs play the Panthers next week and in Week 18, so everything is still in front of them, but time is running out for Tampa to pull out of its tailspin.

Joe doesn’t think anyone guessed that the Bucs would implode from within as badly as the injuries did the Bucs in — provided they don’t make the playoffs.

You know there is a problem when your starting quarterback, your possible Hall of Fame linebacker and team icon, and twice your head coach, all in a span of six weeks, unloaded on the team for a lack of killer instinct, lack of attention to detail and lack of good ol’ fashioned want-to has dragged the Bucs down this badly.

How do you fix that and the No. 30th-ranked pass defense all in the final three weeks of the season? Well, that would be a helluva coaching feat.