The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have had some success over the last two years, winning their division twice in a row and winning a playoff game against the Philadelphia Eagles in 2023. But the road to get there hasn’t always been pretty.

The Buccaneers hit a tough midseason lull in both years, ending up 4-7 in 2023 and 4-6 in 2024. The Bucs climbed out of both holes — they ended up going 9-8 in 2023 and 10-7 in 2024 — but that’s something they don’t want to repeat again in 2025. Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles emphasized this at the NFL Owners Meetings in West Palm Beach, saying that the Bucs needed a sort of “killer instinct” to beat opponents definitively that they didn’t have before.

“We’ve got to play not even better football at the end, but we’ve got to have killer instinct,” Bowles said. “We’ve got to try to blow people out and try to win the division instead of it going down to the last week.”

It has gone down to the last week two years in a row, but the Bucs have made it happen. That’s no consistent way to play football, however, and quarterback Baker Mayfield knows that. When he was asked about Bowles’ “killer instinct” comment at mandatory minicamp, he elaborated on what it means to have one and how to ensure the team does throughout the season.

“A lot of times, when we would start fast, there’s always that lull. I think in the past two years of me being here, overall, if you stand back and look at the beginning of the season to the middle of the season, it’s not getting satisfied – always hitting the reset button whether it’s the next week, or the next series, or the next play,” Mayfield said. “That killer instinct…It doesn’t matter what we’re doing, we’ve got to put teams away when we’re ahead.”

When asked why the Bucs have struggled with that in the past, Mayfield didn’t point to just one thing. He did mention, however, that learning exactly how to do what you’re supposed to be doing becomes crucial during the final stretch of an NFL schedule.

“Obviously, there has been different circumstances and things that have contributed to the mid-season lulls…I wouldn’t say it’s anything with the preparation or week-to-week. It’s just guys just executing – doing their job. That’s what you really try and hone in on in the back end of the season,” Mayfield said. “Once you know a team, your scheme, you’re not installing a whole lot of new plays, so you’ve really got to do the little details well. That’s really the emphasis right now – guys trusting each other to do the job and continuing to do it.”

The Bucs will have a chance to show off that killer instinct early when they face the Atlanta Falcons in a very important Week 1 matchup in 2025. If they can win that game, they’ll have an invaluable division victory early in the season, and putting their foot on the gas will become all the more crucial.