"We're a very dumb football team" - Bruce Arians makes bizarre admission after Buccaneers' loss to Washington
Bruce Arians, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach, was less than impressed after his team lost their second straight game on Sunday to the Washington Football Team.
Coming off a bye and facing a Washington team many expected them to beat, the Buccaneers were second best for the majority of the contest, and it was not close.
Final 💔 https://t.co/sc9Kwg1cu0
In his post-match press conference, Arians did not pull any punches when asked about his team's performance.
"It has nothing to do with ability," Arians said via ESPN. "It's about execution and being a smart football team. We're a very dumb football team. And that's a reflection on the coaches."
The loss leaves the Buccaneers 6-3 on the season, just one game ahead of the New Orleans Saints in the NFC South.
Arians disappointed in team's lack of energy
Teams coming off the bye in the last two weeks have put in horrible performances. Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys came off their bye against Denver and were blown apart by the Broncos' running game.
Then the Buccaneers, on Sunday, coming off a bye, got manhandled by a team that gave them serious trouble in the post-season last year. A final score of 29-19 suggested the game was close, but it was anything but, and Arians was alarmed at what his team dished up.
"It's very disappointing," Arians said. "It's very alarming to watch the energy at every practice and show up with a lack of execution and energy that it takes to win on Sunday. We've got a lot of soul-searching to do."
The Bucs simply were not themselves on Sunday as Washington had more total yards (320 to 273), had more plays (71 to 47) and dominated the possession time stat 39.08 minutes to Tampa's 20.52, largely thanks to a mammoth ten-minute drive in the last quarter.
Grown man drive https://t.co/LGUdtCvFLk
Even Brady, who is usually careful with the football, threw two bad interceptions and the team had six penalties for a total of 43 yards, and Arians said the team needed to cut out the stupid errors.
"Energy and passion are very fixable," Arians continued. "The penalties -- they've gotta get corrected sooner or later. The first play of the game -- they're shifting, and we jump offsides. They don't even run a play, and we jump offsides. The stupidity has to go away if we're gonna go anywhere."
Up next for Brady and the Buccaneers is another NFC East team in the New York Giants and Daniel Jones as they look to arrest their current slide in form with a bounce back victory.