Todd Bowles says Buccaneers are "angrily optimistic" after 0-2 start

Published September 21, 2026 01:30 PM The Buccaneers fell to 0-2 with Sunday’s loss to the Browns and the team is now 2-9 since opening last season with a 6-2 record. During a press conference on Monday, head coach Todd Bowles said he wasn’t bothered by that longer view of the team’s lack of success because he only thinks about this season and the 15 games still in front of them. Given that perspective, Bowles was asked what the team’s mindset is as they turn toward their Week 3 game against the Vikings.“Angrily optimistic,” Bowles said. “You’re always mad when you lose and you’re never satisfied that way, but you’re always optimistic for the things that you’ve done well and the next week as well.”Bowles may not like the idea of including last year’s second half swoon in any evaluation of this team’s record, but it’s hard to draw a clear line when the team keeps producing the same kind of results and the full weight will be on Bowles’s shoulders until this year’s team shows that they can consistently win games.