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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will enter the 2026 season with a chance to put all of last season's disappointment behind them.
After starting out hot at 5-1, the Buccaneers crumbled down the stretch to miss the playoffs, with some fans calling for Bowles' job.
Baker Mayfield has to rediscover his early-season form from last year, and perhaps more importantly, Tampa has to make the playoffs at a minimum.
But will they? NFL.com's Tom Blair has projected the Buccaneers' 2026 record, and look away, because he's got them going 8-9. But that's not the worst part, it's that he has last season repeating itself.
"I seem to fall for Baker Mayfield and the Bucs every year, and a rollicking 6-3 first half should suck me in again -- only for the bottom to fall out with another post-bye slump,” Blair wrote. "For now, the lingering disappointment of 2025 is still obviously the most important thing to factor in here."
MORE: Analyst predicts Commanders' 2026 record and fans will hate it
Prediction would spell the end of Bowles
Fans were calling for Bowles to be removed last season, so if the Buccaneers go 8-9 and miss the playoffs again, those calls will become deafening.
Of course, there is still plenty of talent on the Buccaneers' roster for them to become NFC South champs again, but the other teams in the division have also improved.
So, the 2026 season is looming as one that will have the Buccaneers on my watchlist, simply because the fallout could be catastrophic. Bowles is on thin ice, and Mayfield needs a new contract.
If things go south, maybe this time next year Tampa will have a new head coach/quarterback duo.
I doubt it, but you never know.
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