TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Despite heading into their bye week with the sour taste of a nine-point loss to the Saints, the Buccaneers are still sitting in a good position at (6-2) heading into week 10. T

hey remain atop the NFC South standings, and behind the Arizona Cardinals who have just one loss, the Bucs are one of four NFC teams with only two losses. 

Now with nine games remaining, it’s a matter of getting guys healthy, correcting past mistakes and getting hot down the stretch. 

“Our expectation is to win every game,” Head Coach Bruce Arians said about team expectations going forward. “But we can only do that this week. Our expectation right now is just to practice as hard as we can to eliminate the mistakes that we’re making in games and play better each week. No long-term goals other than to make sure today was the best day we had.” 

In regard to areas of improvement, the three top answers from players and coaches have been turnovers, penalties and communication. Of their 10 turnovers this season, half of them have come in the last three games. 

“The number one thing is just turnovers,” said Bucs Offensive Coordinator Byron Leftwich. “I think we can be better there. I think we should be better there and I just think we’ll be better there. Hopefully, we’ll be better there from a turnover standpoint and just from a ball security standpoint, I guess I should say. Just a ball security standpoint I think that’s what we can be better at. I think there’s a lot of little things I don’t really want to mention that I think can really help us be better. Just sit there looking at ourselves scouting and doing the things we can do well. I think we’re doing a lot of things well though. I just think we have a good group that comes in every day and tries to be better.” 

The penalties have been a glaring issue as well—especially in their losses to the Rams and Saints. In those two losses, the Bucs have racked-up 140 yards on 18 penalties. Some of that is discipline and some of that is communication. 

“I don’t think there’s one area where I think that we can’t be better,” said Bucs quarterback Tom Brady. “Everything I think we can improve. A lot of it is just great communication– us being on the same page. You’ve just got to continue to talk through things. As much as we think we’ve been together, we really haven’t been together that long. I was with players for seven, eight years, 10 years, where nothing needs to be said. We’ve only been together a year-and-a-half. The meetings are important, the walk-throughs are important, practices are important – just being in constant communication with everything to try to improve everything that we’re doing.”