The Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost in overtime to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, 26-19 in overtime, dropping to 1-5 in the process and, as Head Coach Todd Bowles said, removing any margin for error for the remainder of the season. As Bowles also said after the game, the Buccaneers have a tight-knit locker room and are not going to break under the pressures of the current situation, and their current starting quarterback, rookie Jalon Daniels, agreed. Daniels said the Bucs would be fully focused and energized starting on Monday as they prepared for their first game of the season against an NFC South opponent.
"Like I said, we're going to go into this week with a full head of steam," said Daniels. "We're not going to let this loss today dictate how we are going to bring our energy every single day. That's just not who we are. That's not who we are within this building and we know that. We're going to come in tomorrow, obviously own what's on film, but get ready to go out there and play the Carolina Panthers."
The Buccaneers will travel to Charlotte in Week Seven to take on a 3-2 Panthers team that won the division last season on a tiebreaker over the Bucs and Atlanta Falcons. The Bucs aren't thinking about the unlikely path of going from 1-5 to the playoffs, but just getting a division win and starting to claw back into the race.
"This doesn't affect our confidence, it doesn't affect our energy," said Daniels. "We're going to come in tomorrow with the same energy and confidence, because at the end of the day, we know how it feels to win a football game. Obviously, we lost today, but we can't sit here and let wins and losses dictate how we go about our day-to-day basis, because if we do, we've already lost. We're going to come in with the same energy, same excitement, and get ready to go out there and play division football."
Daniels may or may not be in the starting lineup when the Buccaneers take on the Panthers. He has started the team's last three games after Baker Mayfield suffered a dislocated thumb on his throwing hand in Week Three against Minnesota. The Bucs are 1-2 in those three starts, which include a very impressive performance in Dallas on Thursday night in Week Five. Head Coach Todd Bowles said he probably wouldn't have a good idea on whether or not Mayfield had a shot to play in Week Seven until practice on Wednesday. For Daniels, the bottom line is wins and losses, but he still thinks he's proved himself in his first three NFL starts.
"I'll tell you what, I'd be a lot [happier] if we were 3-0 after my starts, but obviously, [we're] 1-2. [I'm] not happy with the results, but happy with the opportunity that I got the chance to be able to go out here and play with a whole bunch of elite playmakers, a whole lot of people who have gotten the chance to be able to make plays at the NFL level for quite some time. So, for me, I believe that I've proved [to] myself that I'm able to play at this level."
