Todd Bowles: Bucs Players Living Off Super Bowl Win Are 'In a Fantasyland'

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers fell to the Pittsburgh Steelers 20-18 on Sunday at Acrisure Stadium, dropping to 3-3 on the season, and head coach Todd Bowles believes his players need to stop living off their Super Bowl win from two seasons ago.

"We didn't take them lightly, number one. Number two, I think guys that are living off the Super Bowl are living in a fantasyland, and you gotta get your hands dirty and go to work like everybody else," Bowles said. "We've been working hard, and we gotta work harder."

The Bucs offense was particularly poor in Sunday's loss.

Tom Brady completed just 25 of 40 passes for 243 yards and one touchdown, which came late in the fourth quarter on a pass to running back Leonard Fournette. In addition, Chris Godwin finished with six catches for 95 yards, and Mike Evans caught four passes for 42 yards.

The loss dropped the Bucs to 3-3, and they are now tied with the Atlanta Falcons for first in the NFC South. If something doesn't change, the team could be stuck with a low playoff seed or miss the playoffs entirely.

The Buccaneers haven't been the same team since winning the Super Bowl during the 2020 season.

During the 2021 campaign, the team finished first in the NFC South with a 13-4 record, but they went on to lose to the Los Angeles Rams in the divisional round.

This season, the team has losses to the Steelers, Green Bay Packers and Kansas City Chiefs. The Packers are also 3-3, while the Chiefs entered Sunday's game against the Buffalo Bills 4-1.

The Bucs should have beaten both the Packers and Steelers, but they appear to be lacking the urgency and desire to compete, hence why Bowles said the team needs to stop dwelling on its Super Bowl title.

Things won't get easier for Tampa Bay, either. They should have no issue with the Carolina Panthers next weekend, but they then go on to face the Baltimore Ravens and Rams in the weeks after.