TAMPA, Fla. -- One day after Chris Godwin suffered a dislocated left ankle on "Monday Night Football" in the final minute of the game, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver sat with teammates in a somber training room at the team's AdventHealth Training Center.
Not only is Godwin likely out for the year, but the team will also be without Mike Evans, who suffered a hamstring injury that is expected to keep him out at least until after Tampa's Week 11 bye.
"He just told us that he believes in us," rookie wide receiver Jalen McMillan said of Godwin. "And I believe in us as well."
Still, it feels like a doomsday scenario for the Buccaneers, vying for a fourth straight division title, fifth straight postseason appearance and, as they talked about all summer, a trip to the Super Bowl.
Evans and Godwin are the franchise's all-time leaders in receiving yards, respectively, and Godwin was off to what could have been a career year. At the end of Week 7, Godwin was tied for third in touchdowns (five) -- only one behind Evans and Ja'Marr Chase -- in the NFL and leading the league in receptions (50). His 576 receiving yards ranks behind only Chase (620).
"Those guys, we love them," outside linebacker Joe Tryon-Shoyinka said, "and it hurts so much to see them go down -- especially the fashion they did."
The Bucs (4-3) face the Atlanta Falcons (4-3) on a short week Sunday (1 p.m. ET, FOX) in an NFC South matchup that could have major postseason implications. A win would give the Falcons the lead in the division and the head-to-head tiebreaker after beating Tampa in overtime in a Week 5 thriller.
Things don't get any easier in Week 9 when the Bucs hit the road to face the Kansas City Chiefs -- which is the only unbeaten team left.
But still, Godwin, who had surgery this week to repair his ankle, was finally feeling recovered from a torn ACL/MCL that he suffered late in 2021 before going down Monday.
"It was rough seeing [Godwin's injury]," McMillan said. "Chris is the focal point, he's a leader, he's somebody that I kind of lean on when it comes to maneuvering in the league and being a rookie. So, you know, it sucked, but we have to pick up where we left off. At the end of the day, them being absent shouldn't make our offense worse, it should stay the same. We just want to continue to improve and be better every week for those guys as well."
Quarterback Baker Mayfield, who's off to a career start, may feel the effects of losing Evans and Godwin the most.
"I mean it obviously sucks," Mayfield said. "There's no way around that."
He exited Monday's game leading the NFL in touchdown passes (18) with the next closest competitors, Lamar Jackson and Jordan Love, at 15 apiece.
"You don't want anybody to get hurt, but you should want to play for those guys," Mayfield said. "You know, you should want to bridge this gap in the meantime until we get Mike back as well, but yeah, you should want to play for these guys. They meant a lot to this team."
The defense already lost starting outside cornerback Jamel Dean to a hamstring injury that landed him on injured reserve last week, and starting nickelback Tykee Smith will now likely be out Sunday because of a concussion.
Cornerback Zyon McCollum said he feels like the onus is on the defense to help carry the load regardless.
"As a defender, I'm like, 'we have to step up more,'" McCollum said. "We have to add more pressure to our play, we have to add more. And sometimes that makes guys crumble in it, but to me, it's motivation. And so when I see one side go down, that just means that the other side has to balance out."
On the offensive side of the ball, they'll need more out of McMillan, who wowed in training camp but had a quiet start to the season and missed two games with a hamstring injury. He's been catching 120 passes a day after practice and has been working to build a connection with Mayfield.
"I had a really good conversation with Jalen, I think it was on Sunday, and just said, 'Hey, this is the week,'" offensive coordinator Liam Coen said. "We talked about it, 'This is the week that you have to really kind of emerge and I trust you.'"
There's also second-year receiver Trey Palmer and Sterling Shepard, who has not only extensive slot experience at the pro level but chemistry with Mayfield from their collegiate days at Oklahoma. Shepard's workload is expected to increase the most after playing 44.9% of the offensive snaps in Week 7.
"I'll be extremely confident in those guys," said Mayfield, adding that he's prepared to spend extra time after practice and off the field to make those relationships work. "Obviously, I had rapport with Trey going back to last year, Sterling for years, obviously, and Jalen all of offseason and training camp. I expect those guys to have success and play really well throughout the week. ... We expect everybody to step up in a big way."
Rakim Jarrett, who had a solid training camp, is currently in his 21-day practice window after coming off injured reserve and could be activated. Ryan Miller was also signed off the practice squad after he made a 39-yard catch against the Saints in Week 6.
While the possibility exists that the team could trade for a wide receiver, the coaching staff is prepared to roll with what they have.
"There are guys out there," Bowles said of the receiver market, "but for what we would have to give up to get them, in the long run, it's probably not worth it.
The Chiefs were able to acquire DeAndre Hopkins from the Tennessee Titans on Wednesday for a fifth-round pick that becomes a fourth-rounder if the Chiefs win the Super Bowl and Hopkins plays 60% of snaps as a Chief. And last week, the Buffalo Bills acquired Amari Cooper and a 2025 sixth-round pick for a 2025 third-round pick and a seventh-round selection in 2026, and the New York Jets got Davante Adams for a 2025 conditional third-round pick.
"For us right now, we're excited to see our young guys play," Bowles said. "We had to play without some defensive guys this year, now we have to play without some offensive guys. We fared pretty well. We think we'll fare pretty well with these guys."