The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are in complete free-fall. After losing to the horrible New Orleans Saints on Sunday, they blew a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter on Thursday night in a 29-28 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. They've lost their lead in the NFL South now, with just three weeks to go.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been watching their lead in the NFC South disappear in the past month or so, but they always felt like their schedule — the easiest home stretch in the NFL — would get them to the finish line.
The Bucs are in a tight race with the Carolina Panthers, and in a rare scheduling quirk, they play each other twice in the final three weeks of the season. That's why the Bucs felt good, because the head-to-head matchups left them in total control.
What was also nice was the the Bucs had two home games in five days against the downtrodden New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons. That was supposed to put them in a good spot heading into the final three weeks.
Instead, it's been a disaster.
Last Sunday they lost at home to the Saints, who were 2-10 at the time and lobbying to the get the No. 1 overall pick. And then Thursday night, the Bucs blew a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter and lost 29-28 to the Falcons on a last-second field goal. The Falcons had only won four games all year.
Now the Bucs are 7-7 on the year — they were 6-2 when the calendar flipped over to November. And Tampa Bay coach Todd Bowles ripped into his players after the game in a profanity-laced rant, questioning how much they cared.
“It’s inexcusable. We don’t make excuses,” Bowles said. “You’ve got to f--king care enough where this s--t hurts. It’s got to f--king mean something. It’s more than a job, it’s your f--king livelihood. How well do you know your job, how well can you do your job? You can’t sugarcoat that s--t. It was in-f--king-excusable. There is no f--king answer for it.
“That’s what you tell them in the locker room. Look in the f--king mirror.”
Todd Bowles' Profanity-Laced Tirade Sums Up Tampa's Fourth-Quarter Collapse
Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles unleashed a profanity-laced outburst, calling his team's blown lead "inexcusable" after a stunning fourth-quarter collapse.
Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield took the blame for the loss, upset that he threw a fourth-quarter interception trying to hit rookie wide receiver Emeka Egbuka while leading by eight points. The Falcons went down and scored a touchdown.
The Falcons were down 28-14 and scored two touchdowns, but they went for two both times and failed. So they needed one more stop — and got it. They went 45 yards in nine plays in the final 1:49, and got a 43-yard field goal from Zane Gonzalez as time expired was the game-winner.
"It's disappointing, obviously, but that falls on my shoulders,” Mayfield told reporters after the games. “I can’t turn the ball over, can’t have that interception. I've got to hit (Egbuka)in stride on that third down.
“Listen, you can say what you want about being up two scores and the defense right there. We have to be better on offense. It comes down to how I play. This one is going to be hard on me. It falls on my shoulders.”
The 7-6 Panthers are a half-game ahead now in the NFC South, and they play at New Orleans on Sunday afternoon.
The two-game series with the Bucs starts on Dec. 21 in Charlotte, and then concludes the final week of the season Tampa. In between, Carolina hosts the 10-3 Seattle Seahawks on Dec. 28. The Bucs play at Miami on the same day.
Kirk Cousins was 30-for-44 passing for 373 yards, beating the Bucs for the third time in two years. He lost his starting job to Michael Penix Jr., but the second-year star tore his ACL last month. Cousins has been good after taking over.
He loves playing against Tampa Bay. He's passed for 1,158 yards and 11 touchdowns with just one interception in the three wins.
“Pro football tests you,” Cousins said after the game. “It keeps me on my knees (in prayer). It’s been a difficult two years since tearing my Achilles. All I know to do is trust and keep going and walk by faith, not by sight, and that can be hard sometimes. Nights like tonight, you get a boost.”
Tampa Bay receiver Mike Evans was back in the lineup after missing two months with a broken collarbone. He had a big night, catching six passes for 132 yards.
“He's one of the ones that cares,” Bowles said.