Buccaneers

Through two games, Buccaneers RB Kenneth Gainwell has only mustered 33 total yards on 11 touches while playing just 40 percent of the snaps. Tampa Bay HC Todd Bowles isn’t worried about Gainwell’s production and made it clear he’s still the 1B behind Bucky Irving at 1A.

“Kenny will help us a great deal, and he’ll do more than that, as well as he was playing more [special] teams and returning kicks for us as well,” Bowles said, via the Buccaneers Wire. “Kenny is going to help us. He’s still a 1B for us. We know it’s a long season, and we’re going to need him immensely.”

Panthers

Panthers linebackers Jaelan Phillips and Devin Lloyd commented on the team’s defensive woes, including allowing 59 points in the season opener to the Bears.

“Fifty-nine is an ugly score to put up as a defense. It’s embarrassing. But I do think it’s a good opportunity for us,” Phillips said, via The Athletic. “It’s a critical moment in the sense that getting beat this badly as a defense is really going to define us moving forward, in terms of the urgency that we have to make these corrections and get better.”

“However you feel, I completely understand. Because we obviously got paid a lot of money to come here and play well,” Lloyd said. “So it’s on us to play well, regardless of what people say or what they think. We’ve gotta perform, and we have to do better.”

Panthers DL Derrick Brown isn’t ready to give up, but the team was unable to regroup and stop the Cleveland Browns in Week 3.

“It sucks, but it’s one f—ing game,” Brown added. “We’ve got a whole season. I’m not fixin’ to f—ing sit here and hit the panic button for nobody. I’ve still got faith in every single man in this room. We’ve been down and out before. I will f—ing hang it on me for those two touchdowns that they got, for those two stupid-ass penalties on me. But we’re gonna get in here and go back to work this week.”

• Panthers HC Dave Canales said that WR Xavier Legette was dealing with soreness in his knee after his career-long catch against the Falcons. (Person)

Saints

Saints QB Tyler Shough entered Week 3 as the league’s passing yards leader but gave his team all the credit for the early season success.

“I think it’s just another moment together as a rep as a team,” said Shough, via the team website. “There’s not necessarily like, ‘We’re looking forward to coming back in this game.’ Like, nah, let’s just get up and let’s go play and let’s operate. It’s more of just like, how do we figure out how to get in the best play possible and run the best play possible and finish off plays. It’s kind of the evolution of that. Those fourth-quarter moments, it doesn’t feel like anything different to me.”

“We’ve still got a lot of football left, and we still have a lot more to clean up. But I know one thing, is that it is night and day from last year as far as how we’re feeling from an operation standpoint, a chemistry standpoint. Day to day, just our play style, our culture — those things are immediate. We’ve put in the effort this offseason, but at the same time, there’s little things if we want to compete and play high-level football week in and week out and playoff-level football, we have to clean those things up. It’s not where we want to be, but I think if you compared it from a first year last year, it’s been a lot better.”

• Saints WR Chris Olave was fined $11,941 for unsportsmanlike conduct.