“Tough To Fully Rationalize”
February 12th, 2026
One of several vanishing acts.
The 2025 season, or at least how it ended, reminded Joe of the 2008 season which turned out to be Chucky’s last with the Bucs.
The Bucs started out 9-3 and everything looked fantastic. Then, the roof caved in as the Bucs lost the next four games to finish December winless and missed the playoffs.
A couple of weeks later, Chucky was run and here came the Lost Decade.
Last year brought those ugly memories back for Joe as he witnessed the Bucs start the season 6-2 and then lost seven of their final nine games, missing the playoffs on a tiebreaker. Brutal.
Bradley Locker of the PFF Tribe suggested Bucs fans not get hoodwinked by the Bucs winning against Carolina in Week 19.
What was once a great group on both sides of the ball fizzled out down the stretch. … Some regression may have been expected, but a team with this much talent should never have fallen this flat. Even individual player struggles — like those from Baker Mayfield, Zyon McCollum and Bucky Irving — are tough to fully rationalize.
Yes, Tampa had won three straight NFC South crowns. But as the 2025 season reinforced, that may not be much of an accomplishment after all. Bowles’ 1-3 playoff record is also a stain, never advancing past the divisional round in three tries. Concerns that manifested after last year’s wild-card defeat are only more prominent, and a win in [the final week] shouldn’t masquerade those.
So, Joe wonders, was 2025 a mirror image of 2008? Is the franchise about to take the wrong turn due to aging stars?
If so, it may be time for Joe to break out the Buffalo Trace.