TAMPA — Chris Godwin will miss this season after dislocating his ankle. Mike Evans will miss at least three games with a hamstring injury.

If the Bucs lose to Atlanta on Sunday, their chances of winning the NFC South will be greatly diminished from being swept by the Falcons. In fact, they could be facing a four-game losing streak next week with a game at Kansas City on Monday night followed by the visit of the 49ers on Nov. 10.

But these injuries will only become convenient excuses. The real failure of the season was Todd Bowles’ defense.

Over 500 yards allowed twice in the last three games (to the Falcons and Ravens). The Bucs rank 31st in total defense (386 yards per game), 29th in pass defense (254 yards per game) and 28th in scoring defense (26 points per game).

Rivals play big ball games on the ground and in the air.

“It’s something we never deal with,” co-defensive coordinator Kacy Rodgers said. “The thing is, we need to eliminate errors. The mistakes we make are huge. It’s not 15 yards (error), it’s 51 yards, it’s 80 yards. In some cases we get big, big deals. From a coaching standpoint, you’re in some pretty good situations where you’re not executing. This is where we need to clean everything up.”

It will require more than a mop and a bucket. The Bucs need to make changes, and Bowles has always been slow to adjust his roster.

The Bucs, in particular, have a problem in the middle of their defense. This is where passing areas are allowed. Dig deeper and you’ll see that the problem lies with linebackers KJ Britt and Lavonte David.

And by the way, Antoine Winfield Jr. What happened to Jordan Whitehead and Jordan Whitehead being the best safety duo in the NFL?

Let’s state the obvious first. Bowles’ plan this season was to add linebacker KJ Britt to the team along with SirVocea Dennis. It worked in the win in Detroit. But Dennis had shoulder surgery and lost in the regular season.

Last week Britt, David and Winfield played 100% of their defensive snaps.

Britt is a downhill runner, but carries a huge responsibility in coverage, whether it’s zone or man-to-man. In fact, he is the lowest-rated inside linebacker in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus. He allowed 16 catches on 20 targets (80%) for 184 yards and a touchdown. Of that total, 114 yards came after the catch, something the Falcons do particularly well.

“They’re catching and running,” Rodgers said. “A 5-yard pass will turn into an 18-yard pass and now these are killing you. The thing is, they’re going to catch some balls, but we need to be able to knock them down as soon as they catch them. “That was kind of our problem.”

David is arguably one of the greatest players in Bucs history with a resume worthy of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. But at 34, he’s not as good in coverage as he was even two or three years ago. According to Pro Football Focus, David threw for 299 yards in coverage and 31 of 37 passes were completed against him. That means more passing yards from cornerbacks Zyon McCollum or Jamel Dean.

Bowles should at least consider finding another defender (JJ Russell or Antonio Grier) to add to the team on passes with Britt.

“It wasn’t all her fault,” Bowles said of Britt. “So, from that standpoint, there were a lot of guys out there that needed to do certain things, but we have different packages that we try to use for certain plays. Guys were either robbed or injured or it just wasn’t the right time to use them, but we’re willing to do a lot of things. But that’s definitely all there is to it.” It wasn’t.

This is a team game where pass rush and coverage must go hand in hand. But as bad as the Bucs’ linebackers have played, Whitehead and Winfield’s performance on the field is even more puzzling.

Winfield had a fumble recovery and a sack for a touchdown in his return to New Orleans on October 13. But he and Whitehead combined Only four passes defended and no interceptions.

“The biggest thing about defense is you have to communicate,” Rodgers said. “If someone’s pulling you out, someone else has to pull you out. Communication is key. We’ve got to play better on some things. You’re sitting here and you’re saying, ‘That was a pretty good call that didn’t go in your favor.’ I think we gave up a 59-yard bomb; that’s probably it.” “He should have been fired before the bomb. That’s our story right now. We need to get out of our own way, in a sense.”

When the Bucs signed Whitehead, Bowles said communication would no longer be an issue because the Bucs had someone reliable on both ends of the field to make sure it got done. But Rodgers and others still complain about a lack of communication.

The story of Sunday’s game will be the loss of Godwin and Evans. I don’t want to diminish their importance, but the biggest obstacle to the Bucs winning is the poor play of the defense.

“Absolutely,” Rodgers said. “It’s a team game, after all. We need more from the defense every week, regardless of who’s playing on offense. With Mike and Chris out, the defense has to step up and play because they have the offensive production they have and they’re not just relying on those two guys.”

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