HEAD COACH TODD BOWLES

(On the team not controlling its own destiny any longer and if that changes anything)

"I don't think that changes anything – we just have to win the game on Saturday and then we'll see. We've made this bed [and] we understand that. We can't do anything on Sunday unless we win Saturday."

(On if he would've preferred all of the NFC South teams to be playing at the same time so that the team didn't have to wait to find out its postseason future)

"I'd like to win on Saturday. Other than that, I don't have an answer for that."

(On the status of T Tristan Wirfs and if he is in play for Saturday's game)

"Not sure yet. We'll see when we get to moving around tomorrow and [Thursday]."

(On if DL Calijah Kancey did more in practice today)

"He did more today, so we'll continue to monitor his [progress], as well."

(On the status of CB Jamel Dean after suffering an injury in Week 17)

"He would have missed practice today. I'll see how he's feeling tomorrow."

(On if he is happy with the effort level and physicality of the defense)

"We're physical, we just miss tackles at times, and we give up big plays at times, which is inexcusable when you're playing defense because everything can cost you, no matter how good you do everything else. You're definitely not happy with the tackling and the busted assignments – you're not happy with that at all. But they play hard – they play very hard, but that's not good enough. We've got to play smarter."

(On if tackling has been the biggest issue when trying to cover running backs in the flat)

"It's not so much as the first guy missing the tackle. I thought the downfield plays of the coverages have been more critical than the missed tackles in that [area]. I thought the missed tackles creeped up a little bit more in this past Miami game. There have been some missed tackles in the flat, but not as many as I thought busted coverages down the field."

(On addressing the missed tackles without padded practices)

"You've got to get more people to the ball – it's just angles, breaking down and wrapping up."

(On if there's anything he can do differently this week now that there are no more second chances)

"We've all talked and said everything. We can do everything we want to do – we've practiced early, we've practiced later. We've [done] certain drills and have done certain things. We just have to do what we do better."

(On if he is 'stunned' by how the season has unfolded)

"I don't think I'm stunned to be in this position – it's disappointing, it's frustrating and it's part of the ebbs-and-[flows] of the season. This is the first season we've gone through something like this at the end of the season, so you try to make the best of it, and you try to come out of it. You put your head down and you keep working."

(On if the possibility of franchise cornerstones Lavonte David and Mike Evans retiring at the end of the season and if that could help motivate this team)

"I think we need to win because we need to win. The fact that it could be or could not be their last game is not even talked about at this time."

(On what LB Lavonte David has meant to him and the organization)

"To me, personally, he's meant everything because he's been not just a captain, and a quarterback, and a coach on the field, and a playmaker – he's been the steady rock that's been here since I've been here going on seven years now. He's kind of got us out of trouble mentally [and] physically at times. Off the field, his leadership and the kind of person that he is that you really don't get to see – helping the younger guys out, helping the older guys out and just always showing up. I don't think I've ever seen a player do what he has done from a defensive standpoint that I've probably ever coached [with] the way he goes about his business, the way he carries himself and the way he leads the team. When that day comes, it will be a heart-wrenching moment at that time."

(On if he believes David has a good case to be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame someday)

"He's got a great case. He's got a great case. As far as I'm concerned, he's a Hall of Famer, if I had a vote, which I don't. He's done enough in his career, and he doesn't have to show or prove anything to anybody."

(On if he has reached out to anyone for advice during this stretch)

"All the advice I've received, I've watched firsthand. I don't have to reach out to get the advice. I kind of know what's going on, what's happening and where we are as a team. I know where we stand as a team. We've got ourselves in a hole and we've got to get ourselves out of the hole – that's just part of it. You've got to keep grinding. When you hear a piece of good advice, you listen. Other than that, you keep it moving."

(On if QB Baker Mayfield has tried to do too much the past few weeks)

"Maybe certain throws, maybe in the fourth quarter on certain throws. I don't think all of the time. I think there are maybe certain throws he'd like to have back. We've just got to take care of the football better. It seems like it comes down to it, and we turn it over, whether it's scheme, whether it's blocking or whether it's quarterback play. We've got to take care of the football better. That's kind of costing us a lot."

QUARTERBACK BAKER MAYFIELD

(On it no longer being win-and-in for the playoffs changes anything)

"For us to get in the playoffs, first and foremost, we have to win on Saturday, so that's the main focus. [We] can't control what happens in the game Sunday, but we can control how Saturday goes, how we prepare, how come into it … last home game."

(On how much having to wait until Sunday to know if they made the playoffs changes the mentality around the locker room)

"It doesn't change anything. The goal is still to go out there and try and find a way to win. Obviously, then play the waiting game, but we have to take care of our business and that's winning on Saturday."

(On what he took away from the first match against the Carolina Panthers)
"I kind of hit on it after the game, but just little things here and there. Obviously, the turnover late — ­­­­­­­­never going to question Mike [Evans]' instincts on that scramble drill aspect of it, would love to have that back, but penalties and little things that shot ourselves in the foot on offense is what really killed us in that game on multiple drives. Having penalties, some false starts and just being able to pick up the pressures when they're there."

(On how much it helps or hurts having played the Panthers in the last 13 days)

"It just comes down to executing, doing your job the best way you possibly can. You know each other very well, to begin with, being an in-division opponent, and then after that it's [that] you're not having a bunch of wrinkles from the time between games is not very much. You can't change the game plan up a whole lot, just go out there and execute it and adjust to what they did well and what we did well."

(On if he is able to forget about the losses and start fresh for the upcoming game)
"[You] have to have a short memory, and I do. I know what the priority is and that's winning [on] Saturday. To be able to completely forget what's going on? No, being the competitor I am, [I am] frustrated with where we're at. I am able to compartmentalize and be able to focus on Saturday."

(On if the injuries he has sustained this season have affected his accuracy and if the injuries to the offensive as a whole has affected the performance)
"I wouldn't even go with accuracy on that one. [Ashtyn Davis] made a hell of a play late in the game [against the Dolphins], spinning the middle of the field, and came back out of it. Then the other one, trying to give 'J-Mac' (Jalen McMillan) a chance. I just need to put more mustard on it. Decision-making on that one was fine, it's just giving him a better ball. That's the ebbs and flows of the game. It's a long season, it's a very physical game, everybody has to deal with injuries. Obviously, we've had a ton of them and had to adjust, but that's never an excuse. We are where we are, and [we] just have to take care of business."

(On if it feels like a battle against themselves rather than the other team regarding executional miscues)
"A little bit, yeah. It's how well can you execute? You look at the things we've messed up in these last few games, you've got to be able to do the little details right. Everything – you never know when that play is going to really make the difference. So, be on your p's and q's on normal downs and distances, and obviously, third downs and redzone [we] have to be really locked in. How well can we do our jobs? That's the goal."

(On speaking to RB Bucky Irving to try and help keep his confidence)
"Last year's production was pretty unique. It's just riding the rollercoaster of the NFL. It's not always going to go your way, and for him, it's getting back to the little things, the little basics, following his blocks, setting it up right the same way, not just assuming some things are going to happen a certain way. For him, little things, back to the fundamentals and then after that, just Bucky's God-given ability. Do the small things right and then Bucky can take over after that."

(On what they handled well at the beginning of the season when they started 6-2 that they have not recently to end up in the position they are in currently)
"I think it's the same thing I've said the last couple months. We did all the little things right in those close ball games early on. When we had that middle of the season stretch against some really, really good opponents, we did not do those same things and that cost us. We didn't execute, and it wasn't that we were outmanned, outgunned, it was pure execution [and] doing the same things we had done right hundreds of times and doing it in the game that we didn't execute. It wasn't about the injuries. Is that a factor in it? Yes, but we were all on the same page no matter who was in there. It's about execution, doing the little things right and going against a division opponent again, it's the same thing."

(On if there is an issue he can point to as a problem during the losing streak)

"I don't know if I can really put my finger on it. Like I said weeks ago, it's not just one certain issue, it's not just one little thing. Whether it's focus, or guys being in there and realizing, 'Okay, I've done this before, this is how I need to do it again and execute it even better.' Yeah, I don't know."

-BUCCANEERS-