Things couldn’t be going much worse for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lately.
Thanks to a 23-20 come-from-ahead-loss to the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, they’re looking up at the division lead for the first time this season with two weeks left to play. After a 6-2 start going into the bye week, they’ve cratered and now fallen 7-8 after picking up a sixth loss in their last seven games. Defensively, the Bucs have been a mess, allowing chunk plays week after week. The offense has been disjointed and inconsistent, the offensive line has struggled to create consistent openings on the ground, and Baker Mayfield has regressed over the second half of the season.
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The Bucs have a game they can in no way lose on Sunday against the rudderless Miami Dolphins on the road. Miami benched Tua Tagovailoa for poor play, and the Quinn-Ewers-led Fins were blasted on Sunday 45-24. There’s zero excuse for Tampa Bay not to just win, but to win convincingly.
That being said, the task of winning on Sunday could be getting a bit tougher. Per Todd Bowles on Tuesday, left tackle Tristan Wirfs is dealing with a toe injury that kept him out of practice.
Tristan Wirfs dealing with a toe injury, per Todd Bowles
“He’s dealing with a toe issue right now,” Bowles said. “So, we’ll see how he’s doing later in the week.”
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Bowles confirmed that the issue was one that he suffered during the game against Carolina but was able to fight through it and finish the game. Normally that would be an encouraging sign, but that’s not outright indicative of his chances to play this weekend. Wirfs suffered an oblique injury against Arizona and was able to finish that game, but he missed the Bucs’ next game against the New Orleans Saints.
We’ll see if Wirfs can gain clearance by Friday, but it’ll be something to watch as the week goes along. With no margin for error the rest of the season, losing their best player on offense would be a tough blow to a team that’s not handled adversity particularly well over the last two months.
This story was originally published by A to Z Sports on Dec 23, 2025, where it first appeared in the NFL section. Add A to Z Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.