It’s not too late, but it’s not too late for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers either.
They will field a rookie in the starting lineup for the second week in a row as they look to secure their first win of the season.
It’s not ideal, especially for coach Todd Bowles, who looked confused last December and January.
Now imagine checking in as the only team in the NFC with a winless record.
Bowles may have already used his holdout card after last season, so whether or not there’s a reprieve or grace period because quarterback Baker Mayfield is out with a thumb injury.
But what is known is that these are tough times for the Pirates.
They will go with quarterback Jalon Daniels for Thursday night’s game at the Dallas Cowboys (2-2), who should be in his desperation form when facing his best QB against a winless team.
Daniels had his moments in Sunday’s 17-14 loss to the Green Bay Packers.
“Seeing film and watching that game helped me improve in a lot of ways,” Daniels said earlier this week.
Daniels’ first NFL start came with encouraging stretches not usually associated with the doomsday tag attached to the team. But this Tampa Bay team hasn’t won a game, so things get more extreme.
Daniels, who went undrafted out of Kansas last spring, is eager to get back on the field and see where he can improve. It’s a short week for the Buccaneers, so there’s less time to sort out the details, though this is a chance to see if he can make progress.
Daniels said Mayfield was there to offer insight and support every step of the way.
But Dallas, despite some of its warts, is the NFL’s second-highest scoring team, so the Buccaneers will need to be productive on offense.
After that, there is overtime after the Dallas game if significant lineup changes are deemed necessary.
It could be a way out of partial death as no team in the NFC South has ever won more than two games. The Buccaneers still trail all six of their divisional games.
Bowles has a 35-36 regular season record with the Buccaneers, a pair of winning seasons and two 8-9 marks. They won the NFC South three times under his watch, including one with that 8-9 record in 2022.
The Buccaneers are 1-9 in their last 10 night games over a three-season stretch. They are certainly not set up for prime time right now.
The question remains: another loss for Bowles and Co. will it cause the lights to go out for?