Todd Bowles - Head Coach, buccaneers Event: Press Conference | Date: 2026-09-14 | Full transcript (primary source).
Todd Bowles, Head Coach of the Buccaneers, addressed the media during a press conference on September 14, 2026, following a recent game against the Bengals. The discussion focused on player injuries and performance evaluations, particularly regarding Parrish's back sprain and Benjamin Morrison's contributions on the field.
Transcript
Bowles: Good. Good. Good. Kicked everybody out, right? Yeah.
Reporter: Do you have any update on Parrish to support these situations right now?
Bowles: Yeah, he just has a back sprain, both x-ray and MRI came back negative, so it's just a matter of him getting over soreness.
Reporter: And that said, how did you think Benjamin Morrison played when he had to go in?
Bowles: I thought he played very well. He prepared well. He practiced like that all week when he got in the game. He didn't miss a beat. He tackled well. He covered well. I thought he did a heck of a job.
Reporter: How would you evaluate a team's pass rush against the Bengals?
Bowles: I don't think it was very good for the fact that we didn't work together. I thought they'd try to be too many individuals up there for us to be effective. We got to work together.
Reporter: You talked a lot about turnovers, obviously, yesterday, but Baker in particular has had like 35 fumbles. He hasn't lost them all, but since he came here in 2023, everybody's a fan of his, never give up on a play, but it has to be a point where that can't continue, right?
Bowles: Well, he knows he's got to take care of the football, and we don't want the turnovers. He doesn't want them either. We got to get better at that and understand there are times you just have to get down and understand the play calling and knowing when you got the first down, knowing when the game's on the line, and knowing when it's not. So, obviously, we don't like the turnovers, and he'll be better this week.
Reporter: How would you evaluate Zach Robinson's first game calling players, the Buccaneers?
Bowles: I don't think there's an evaluation of one game, you know. We turned the ball over quite a bit, so you really can't tell. We moved the ball some, some plays that everybody liked to have back as a coordinator, but, you know, he's effective in the things that we're doing, and I like where he's at right now.
Reporter: You mentioned yesterday that it was on offense, it was either turnovers or points, no punts. Does that just show, if you limit the turnovers, what potential this offense can be?
Bowles: Well, we scored 27 and still had the turnovers, so we got to do a better job not turning it over. We just want to be effective and have positive plays, and I think we can be an effective offense.
Reporter: You guys shut down the outside receivers, but, Giseki, you've had a lot of big receptions against you. How did you think that Alex Anzalone covered in particular? I know that was a big reason why it often isn't for him coming here, and just what kind of a game did he have?
Bowles: His main coverage is fine. I think Giseki got two plays on two zone coverages where we didn't drop the right way. He missed a couple tackles that he liked to have back. Obviously, he don't want that part of it, and it was rusty the first game, but I know he'll bounce back this one.
Reporter: How do you feel like Chris Godwin looked? It seemed he had a couple of big stiff arms. Did it seem like he's kind of back to his old Chris Godwin self that Lux fans know?
Bowles: He played hard, and he played fast. He played winning football for us. We lost the game, but certain people had some good performances, but they don't count when you lose.
Reporter: Emeka seemed to have some momentum early, Baker was finding them early. How do you feel like that connection can develop, especially for Emeka to try to have a full game and make some impact plays late?
Bowles: It's good, he's still working his way back. He's missed a lot of time, but obviously coming in and being effective early kind of helped him out going forward. As we get in better shape, going down the line for the guys that haven't practiced too much, I think we'll be a lot better going forward.
Reporter: In terms of his cuts and making guys miss the run line screws, did you think Vicky Irving looked more like he did in his rookie season?
Bowles: Yeah, he did. I mean, he was very sharp running the football wise. Obviously, you got to protect it better and understand. He has some of that with Baker. He understands his sizes of the Hulk, but his power is of the Hulk, but his size is probably of Ant-Man, so he's got to understand when. And when not to take on certain things in certain situations as well. At least put two hands on the ball, and he understands that.
Reporter: There was a situation, I think it was third down, correct me if I'm wrong, but you guys lined up and there's nobody in the middle of the field. They have guard, center guard, no one's over top of them. And Joe Burrow checks the draw, gets the first down. What was supposed to happen there? Is that a defense that you're actually just leaving the mill vacant like that?
Bowles: The mill's never vacant in our defense. A mistake, I mean, you're something. That's what usually happens.
Reporter: Josiah Trotter having a couple of big moments, the touchdown. How exciting was it to see him have such a big debut?
Bowles: We said he's a football player. He's a football player, he had an impact on the game, and he'll continue to get better and better. Some things he'd like to have back that you learn as a rookie, but he definitely made an impact on the game.
Reporter: We talked a lot about the guys who brought in the attitude and the pressure you're trying to build the defensive line and get the pass rush going. Ruben Bain and Yaya both just had one tackle each, no sacks, very little, if any, pressures. What did you make of Bain's debut and what was not getting done on the outside in the game?
Bowles: Again, we can play better, we can play better. I don't think they were the sharpest. I thought Yaya played hard. I thought Bain played. He probably took a step back in terms of the mental aspect of it, but that comes with working together with everybody else in the pass rush games as well, and we got to do a better job up front at that.
Reporter: And Vida hasn't played, obviously, you got the contract late, didn't have a lot of runway up until this first game. How did he handle the conditioning? What did he look like Vida Vay to you?
Bowles: Conditioning part was fine. The hand placement is a little rusty, obviously, as he gets the reps, he'll be better and better, and he knows that. And we'll look forward to him being better this week with more practice time.
Reporter: How do you feel like Ted Hurst looked? Obviously, at the end, he got three catches back to back to back. How do you feel like he played in his debut?
Bowles: I thought Ted played fast. He played very fast. He played hard, and when they threw it to him, he was open. So they got him a ball. I think he'll be fine.
Reporter: Was that a function that you were in the two-minute? He could play fast in that offense? We didn't see a lot of them after the first series as far as targets go.
Bowles: No, he played fast. I mean, the coverage dictates the targets, and the coverage was there where the targets didn't go that way. But he played fast the entire game.
Reporter: What's your message to your team after week one defeat?
Bowles: It's a long season. We all know that, but I know you hope to have played better. You got to clean up the little things. You got to clean up the little things. That starts in practice, and everybody knows that. And some guys had very good individual games, but individuals don't win games. Teams do. So we got to play a lot better. We got to communicate better. Obviously, we can coach it better, but we got to be a lot tougher going into this week.
Reporter: What's the challenge of getting individuals to play as a team?
Bowles: That's the challenge every year. We play as a team. We play as a team. It's a mistake here or there, or somebody not on the same page mentally, and that comes with it. And it's the first game jitters of playing that many plays at the same time, so we got to eliminate that quickly.
Reporter: This will be the first time, I think, that Mayfield has actually played against the Browns, the former team, the team that drafted him and released him. He's obviously a very emotional guy. He said he's had this circle on his calendar since the schedule came out. Does he have to guard against, again, his notion of trying to do too much just because of the opponent?
Bowles: No, I don't think so. Baker's a very smart guy. He understands that he has to play better and take care of the football. That comes first, and then we'll worry about the opponent.
Reporter: Anything else?
Bowles: Yes, thank you.
