Todd Bowles’ Full Post-Game Transcript

Todd Bowles On What It Says About The Team Putting Up 40 Points On The No. 1 Scoring Defense In The NFL:

“The [team] didn’t panic at halftime. We made some mistakes in the first half and turned it over twice. We understood the assignment. It shows the growth from the second half of the season as a team. We can come back and not panic in the second half and go ahead and try to take games away.”

Todd Bowles On Dominating On The Ground:

“That’s huge. That’s December football. We’re trying to stop the run, we’re trying to run the football. Today we did a good job.”

Todd Bowles On If The Chargers Allowing The Least Points And QB Justin Herbert’s Interception Streak Was On His Mind Coming In:

“It wasn’t on our mind. We knew they were a good team. We were just trying to win the ball game. We had to execute, we had to play great on defense, we had to run the ball on offense and we did that.”

Bucs WR Mike Evans Photo by: USA Today

Todd Bowles On The Day That WR Mike Evans Had:

“Did a heck of a job every time that we needed it. He came up big and counted on him. Ran for a touchdown and almost ran for another one if his t-shirt wasn’t so thick. I told him he’s got to get a shorter t-shirt. He’s our bell cow. We’re going to need him down the stretch and he showed up big for us.”

Todd Bowles On Having The Safety Depth Come In And Hold The Chargers’ Offense:

“It was huge, it was huge. They came and they did a heck of a job, especially in the second half. The communication was very good. We gave up two or three plays in the first half, but in the second half, they bottled down and the communication was great. Everybody understood the assignment.”

Todd Bowles On Getting A Defensive Stop After RB Rachaad White’s Fumble In The Second Quarter:

“That was big for us. The growth of the team – nobody blinked once the turnover came. Everybody went out there and did their job. We went into halftime, talked about it and they came out and executed.”

Todd Bowles On What Stands Out Most To Him During The Team’s Four-Game Winning Streak:

“Offensively, it starts with the offensive line and running the football. The running backs, the wideouts and the tight ends blocking. Defensively, haven’t been giving up the points we gave up in the first half of the season. They bottled down in the run game and everybody is not blowing assignments.”

Bucs RB Bucky Irving – Photo by: USA Today

Todd Bowles On The Decision To Play RB Bucky Irving And His Ability To Have Explosive Runs:

“It’s been great. He looked good on Friday. On Friday, he looked like the old Bucky when he practiced and that was different than he looked the week before. He was fresh, he had a smile on his face, so we kind of knew he was ready to go. He gives us a big boost, obviously. He seems like he breaks one a game for us, it ends up being a big play and we need every ounce of it. Rachaad [White] and Sean [Tucker] came in and did some great things as well. The run game has been huge for us this year.”

Todd Bowles On The Luxury Of Having A Guy Like WR Mike Evans Who Can Take Over A Game:

“I think he’s a guaranteed Hall of Famer and he steps up and plays big. You can’t put a price on what he does for this team from a mental standpoint, from a physical standpoint, and from a team standpoint. He is everything that a player aspires to be. He’s tough, he does great in the community and he takes care of his body. He comes up big with play whether you’re singling him or doubling him and he blocks. We can’t ask for anything more than he’s giving us right now.”

Todd Bowles On His Thoughts Coming Down To The Last Three Regular-Season Games:

“We control our own destiny and we’re trying to win them all. We’re going to take it one day at a time, we’re going to take it one game at a time. We’re going to try to keep correcting the little things, harping on that, and we’ll get ready to play.”

Todd Bowles On ILB Lavonte David Being More Involved In The Pass Rush:

Bucs RB Rachaad White – Photo by: USA Today

“It’s more intentional depending on the package. He’s one of our best blitzers, obviously, and he got home quite a few times. To move him around some and give him some freedom while their eyes went other places – he’s probably one of the few that can handle that type of volume from what we put in. He kind of executed perfectly.”

Todd Bowles On Keeping Opposing Defenses Unpredictable With Offensive Balance:

“It’s dangerous as long as we can keep it up. We got to keep our eye on the prize and we got to keep doing the little things right. Those guys are playing very good football at the right time.”

Todd Bowles On What’s Been The Difference On Defense Since The Bye Week:

“Just the concentration and the focus. Everybody is communicating with each other, playing for each other and understanding what they’re looking at.”