The Tampa Bay Buccaneers dropped to 3-4 on the season with Sunday's 21-3 loss to the Carolina Panthers, and head coach Todd Bowles admitted that the team is not in the right head space following the defeat.

Bowles said the Bucs are in a "dark place," per Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times, and "they have to see if the older guys can still play and if the younger guys are good enough to play."

"We have to wear this on our sleeves. We have to be grown men. We’re gonna see what we’re made of; how many people can handle adversity. It’s about as dark as it’s gonna be right now," Bowles said, per The Athletic's Greg Auman.

Bowles added that he's not considering any coaching changes at this point in the year, but it's clear something needs to change if the Buccaneers are going to get back on track and save their season.

After Tom Brady decided to unretire, many expected the seven-time Super Bowl champion to return with a chip on his shoulder and lead the Buccaneers on another championship run. However, the team looks as far as ever from competing for another title.

Following Tampa's loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers one week ago, Brady blamed the Bucs' problems on a lack of execution. Those execution issues only continued in Sunday's loss to Carolina.

Sunday's game marked Tampa Bay's second consecutive loss and the first time that Brady has been below .500 at this point in the season since 2002. It also marked a new low for the team this year.

Brady completed 32 of 49 passes for 290 yards in the loss. Mike Evans led Bucs' receivers with nine catches for 96 yards, and he would have had a touchdown in the first quarter had he not dropped a wide-open pass from Brady.

Tampa's rushing offense was even more lackluster. Rookie Rachaad White led the team with six carries for 24 yards.

The Buccaneers hadn't been held without a touchdown since a 9-0 loss to the New Orleans Saints on Dec. 19, 2021.

Bowles' squad has a tough schedule coming up with meetings against the Baltimore Ravens and Los Angeles Rams on tap. It will need to sort things out quickly to avoid dropping further out of playoff contention.