TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are off to another strong start, though coach Todd Bowles understandably is playing down the significance of being 2-0 for a fourth straight season.
Despite going on to win the NFC South each of the past three years, the Bucs had to overcame midseason struggles and inconsistency — especially under Bowles in 2022 and 2023 — to finish on top of a division where they're expected to be challenged again by the New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons.
“It's a new season, still have a lot of games left,” quarterback Baker Mayfield said after Sunday's 20-16 road win over the Detroit Lions, who defeated Tampa Bay twice last season, including in the divisional round of the playoffs.
“It was a big win," Bowles echoed. "But it's 2-0. ... We won the first two games last year and you see what happened after that.”
Two years ago — with Tom Brady in the final season of his career, and Bowles beginning his stint as coach — the Bucs rallied to win the division with a losing record (8-9). They dropped six of seven following a 3-1 start in 2023, then went 5-1 down the stretch to repeat as division champs and make the playoffs for the fourth straight season.
Sunday's confidence-bolstering win at Detroit, which came within one victory of reaching the Super Bowl last season, served notice that the Mayfield-led Bucs have a chance to better this year.
“There's a lot of stuff that we can fix,” Mayfield said after Tampa Bay was outgained 463 yards to 216 and converted just two of 10 third downs against the Lions, who turned ball over twice and only scored one touchdown on seven trips inside the red zone.
“But for us, building chemistry and building this resiliency and the culture that we want, this is a huge win,” Mayfield added, “so we have to continue to build on that.”
The offense wasn't nearly as efficient against Detroit as it was the previous week in a 17-point victory over Washington, but receiver Chris Godwin continues to thrive as he gets acclimated to the system installed by first-year offensive coordinator Liam Coen.
Godwin had seven catches for 117 yards and a touchdown — all in the first half — against the Lions. Through two games, the eighth-year pro has 15 receptions for 200 yards. With two TDs receiving, he's already matched his total from last season.
The offensive line had problems protecting Mayfield, allowing five sacks while playing without starting RT Luke Goedeke (concussion). The number would have been higher if not for the quarterback's mobility and knack for escaping pressure.
CB Zyon McCollum, who cleared the concussion protocol in time to be cleared to play against Lions, intercepted Jared Goff on the first offensive play of the game. S Christian Izien, who came off the bench in Week 1 to play cornerback after the Bucs lost three players to injury at the position, started Sunday and had an interception while filling in for injured All-Pro S Antoine Winfield Jr. (foot).
After showing signs of life with 112 yards rushing the previous week against Washington, the running game looked a lot like the listless ground attack that ranked last in the NFL each of the past two seasons. Detroit limited the Bucs to 70 yards on 23 attempts. Mayfield led the way with 34 yards on five carries, including an 11-yard TD run that put Tampa Bay ahead for good.
There was encouraging news Monday on DT Vita Vea (knee), who left Sunday's game in the second half and did not return.
“He's got an MCL sprain, grade 2,” Bowles said. “Right now, he's day to day but not ruled out” for Sunday's game against visiting Denver.
1 — The number of red-zone touchdowns allowed by the Bucs' defense despite the Lions making seven trips inside the Tampa Bay 20. Opponents have had six or more red-zone possessions in a game against Tampa Bay 15 times since 2000. Sunday was the only time in that stretch the defense yielded one or fewer TDs.
The Bucs host the Broncos and rookie quarterback Bo Nix on Sunday. They also faced a rookie QB in Week 1, defeating No. 2 overall draft pick Jayden Daniels and Washington. Since Bowles arrived in Tampa Bay as defensive coordinator in 2019, the Bucs are 11-5 against rookie QBs.
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Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield scrambles for a 11-yard touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles speaks to the media after an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions in Detroit, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Work on the presidential inauguration platform began Wednesday at the U.S. Capitol with congressional leaders pounding the first ceremonial nails into a stage they cast as a symbol of America's commitment to the peaceful transfer of power — a tradition that was almost upended in 2021 when Donald Trump's supporters violently stormed the Capitol.
As Republican and Democratic leaders gathered in a moment of bipartisanship with Washington’s National Mall spread before them, no direct mention was made of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack where Trump’s supporters used pipes, lumber and other materials from the inauguration stage to attack law enforcement and halt the certification of the election.
But memories of that day, and heightened worries about violence in this year's tense election season after the latest apparent assassination attempt against Trump, shadowed the event.
“These workers will literally set the stage for the peaceful transfer of power,” said Sen. Amy Klobuchar, the Minnesota Democrat who chairs the joint committee overseeing preparations for the inauguration.
Preparations for the last inauguration became an integral part of the violence that unfolded at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, with rioters swarming the stage and the tall press platform that stands in front of it during their siege of the building.
Workers who were putting finishing touches on the structure had to flee that morning as rioters closed in. They later had to clean up the debris and rebuild parts of the stage for President Joe Biden's inauguration two weeks later.
Klobuchar, flanked by construction workers in hard hats and reflective vests, cast the presidential inauguration next year as an opportunity to “celebrate our democracy and the sacred values that tie us together as a nation.”
Earlier Wednesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican who is also on the committee, took aim at Democrats for describing Trump as a threat to democracy, but also called on “everybody” to scale back their attacks.
“Let’s have a vigorous debate on the policy differences, on the records, but let’s turn the rhetoric down because we’re not going to be able to sustain that,” Johnson, R-La., said.
Adding to the symbolism, the six congressional leaders noted the event also coincided with the anniversary of George Washington laying the cornerstone of the Capitol.
Lawmakers hammered a handful of the roughly 500,000 nails that will hold the stage together. House Republican Leader Steve Scalise took to the task eagerly, using his left hand to finish ahead of his colleagues, while Klobuchar finished the ceremony with gusto, banging her hammer with a smile and a laugh.
When finished for the Jan. 20 ceremony, the platform will hold nearly 1,600 people — the president and vice president-elect, past presidents, foreign dignitaries, Supreme Court justices and congressional leaders — to mark the beginning of a new administration.
Above the ceremony, five American flags will fly. One will be the current flag, two have 13 stars for the original colonies, and two hold the number of stars as when the president's home state was admitted to the union.
There will either be a 31-star flag for Vice President Kamala Harris's California or a 27-star flag for Trump's Florida. And the next president will either be the first Black woman and the first South Asian American to serve as president or just the second to succeed in a comeback bid to the White House.
Associated Press photographer J. Scott Applewhite contributed to this report.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., poses for a photo to the First Nail Ceremony marking the beginning of construction of the 2025 Presidential Inauguration platform, on the steps of the Capitol, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)
Tyler Smith, a woodcrafter with the Architect of the Capitol, and Herbert Melgar, a painter, measure out the nail placement for Congress members to hammer for the First Nail Ceremony marking the beginning of construction of the 2025 Presidential Inauguration platform at the Capitol, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)
Congress members hammer in the first nails at the First Nail Ceremony marking the beginning of construction of the 2025 Presidential Inauguration platform on the steps of the Capitol, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., right and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., are seen after the First Nail Ceremony marking the beginning of construction of the 2025 Presidential Inauguration platform, on the steps of the Capitol, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)
Congress members hammer in the first nails at the First Nail Ceremony marking the beginning of construction of the 2025 Presidential Inauguration platform on the steps of the Capitol, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)
From left, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., arrive to the First Nail Ceremony marking the beginning of construction of the 2025 Presidential Inauguration platform, on the steps of the Capitol, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)
