Bucs head coach Todd Bowles had a message after today’s chain-whipping of the Chargers in Los Angeles.

The Bucs running the ball down the Chargers’ throats 39 times and doing a solid job stopping the run? Bowles says that’s not just winning football, “It’s December football.”

And when it comes to December football, Bowles seems to have cracked some of the code.

His Bucs are a stunning 9-3 in December games since he took over for the 2022 season. Man, what a coach Bowels would be if he could turn his brand of December football into October football.

Perhaps most important is how Bowles’ steady messaging resonates with players in December. He stays calm and on script all season and keeps preaching how staying the course — no matter what may be failing — and fixing little things will put the Bucs where they need to be.

That drives a lot of fans insane, including Joe at times, but Joe cannot discount the value of that consistency among the roster.

The result today was the best version of December football, a performance that might have been the Bucs’ most emphatic victory since, well, last December.

That’s when the Bucs, 363 days ago, went to Green Bay and hammered the Packers en route to their third consecutive NFC South title.

If the Bucs can continue playing “December football,” then Joe is confident they’ll have the NFC South wrapped up before January.

How fitting that would be!