Scheiber's Take: Bucs Start Strong but Loss to Patriots Raises Concerns

For a few fleeting minutes Sunday inside Raymond James Stadium, the Tampa Bay Bucs looked as if their recent bye week had worked wonders.

When we last left off, the Bucs’ offense had largely been missing in action in the weeks heading into the break. But here was quarterback Baker Mayfield marching the unit down the field on the opening drive against the New England Patriots with pinpoint precision – culminating with a 21-yard touchdown to sensational rookie wide receiver Emeka Egbuka.

So much, however, for a smooth and successful start to the season’s second half. This one went from in sync to 'N Sync – a bye (and) bye-bye in the form of a 28-23 loss that raises concerns with a treacherous schedule ahead.

In a game that could have established valuable momentum, the Bucs regressed defensively – giving up touchdowns of 72, 69 and 55 yards, all to New England rookies. And the offense is clearly lacking a break-away spark in the running game without injured tailback Bucky Irving, while Mayfield’s early-season magic with his scrambles has faded and his passing consistency still seems somehow off, especially in key situations.

"(We) just did not execute well enough,” he said. “(We have) to do all the little things right in critical moments and we did not do that today. That’s what I told the team and told the offense after the game. At some point, when the stuff comes up during the week, whether it’s mistakes or things we talk about and then it shows up on Sundays, you have to have some pride about you.

“You (have) to have better responsibility and accountability for the guys around you and get it fixed. In tight ball games like this, when you play a good team like the Patriots, little things will get you beat. That was the case for us on offense today. Case in point, it starts with me; (I missed) some throws there that I would like to have back, some more completions. … It starts with me, but everybody has got to have pride about it too."

Mayfield did complete 28 of 43 passes for 273 yards and three touchdowns – the first to Egbuka, and the next two to another standout rookie wideout, Tez Johnson. And he orchestrated a last-ditch touchdown drive that gave the Bucs a glimmer of hope in the final minute. But too often, Mayfield, who had been hampered with an oblique and knee injury in recent weeks, was off the mark on throws he typically makes,

Bucs head coach Todd Bowles, meanwhile, was distressed by the big plays given up on defense.

“Obviously, we didn’t play it well enough,” he said. “We definitely didn’t coach it well enough – (and) I definitely didn’t coach it well enough. It starts with me, and those things can’t happen if you’re playing against a good team like that, or any team in this league. We gave them up and it was inexcusable on our part. Bad on the coaching, bad on the players”

The Bucs still lead in the NFC South at 6-3, and didn’t lose any ground because the Saints defeated the second place Carolina Panthers on Sunday, keeping them a distant second place at 5-5. And now they travel to Buffalo to play a 6-3 Bills team that got shellacked 30-13 by Miami and will no doubt be eager to get back on a winning track. For the moment, the Bucs are in good shape to win another division title, but the goal of going deeper into the post-season is anything but a given, in light of Sunday’s uneven showing.

On the flip side, it was the Patriots who now look like a team to watch and potentially go deeper into the postseason – not bad after back-to-back 4-13 seasons. In fact, the Patriots’ Mike Vrabel is now the first NFL head coach to start 8-2 following a four-win season. And his second-year quarterback Drake Maye was the picture of poise much of the game, completing 16 of 31 passes – and a handful of key third-down throws – for 270 yards and a pair of TDs, with one interception.

He tied the score 7-7 as time ran out in the first quarter on a 72-yard pass-and-run to rookie wide receiver Kyle Williams (who dashed about 60 of those yards down the right sideline). Maye put the Pats ahead 14-10 as the first half ended, connecting with veteran receiver Stephon Diggs in the corner of the end zone on a 4th-and-1. And early in the third quarter, Maye handed off to rookie tailback TreVeyon Henderson who blasted through a hole on the right side and scooted 55 yards for a 21-10 edge.

Mayfield responded with the Bucs’ best drive of the day – 11 plays covering 92 yards in 5:50, ending with a 10-yard touchdown to Tez Johnson. The two-point conversion try failed but the Bucs were still alive, trailing 21-16 with 4:12 left in the third quarter.

New England then appeared on the verge of putting the game away with five minutes to play, moving to a third-and-goal at the Bucs 3. But cornerback Tykee Smith cut in front of New England tight end Hunter Henry for the interception. Suddenly, the Bucs had a fighting chance to pull off one of their early-season dramatic comebacks.

Mayfield went to work. He hit tight end Cade Otton for one of his career-high nine catches – this one a 16-yarder to the Buc 48, and tailback Sean Tucker broke free for his best run of the day, 18 yards to the Patriot 34. But the drive soon stalled, and on a 4th and 3 from the 27, Mayfield was smothered on a blitz – led by unblocked linebacker K’Lavon Chalsson. He managed to flip the ball to tailback Rachaad White for a three-yard loss as the clock dipped below two minutes, giving the Patriots possession.

The Pats took over at their 30, and on the first play, Henderson took the handoff, dashed around the left side and broke free for a 69-yard touchdown – increasing the lead to 28-16 with 1:31 remaining.

The Bucs weren’t done, at least not technically. Mayfield moved the team quickly back into scoring position on four completions, and connected with Johnson for an 11-yard touchdown with 33 seconds left. But the ensuing onsides kick failed as Diggs corralled the bouncing ball – his second best “catch” of the game. And that was it.

“They executed better than we did,” Bowles said. “We didn’t finish our blocks when we had a chance to make some plays, and that happened in all three phases throughout the game. But you’ve got to give them a lot of credit.”

As for the Bucs, missing players like Irving, and wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin has taken a visible toll – even with the stellar play of rookies Egbuka and Johnson. For the record, Egbuka (six catches for 115 yards and the TD) tied future Hall of Famer Evans for most receiving touchdowns in their first nine games (seven). He’s also one of four players in the NFL since 1971 to record 40-plus receptions and average at least 16.5 yards per reception through their first nine career games (joining Evans, Ja'Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson).

The offense was aided by the return to the lineup of standout guard Luke Goedeke, but starting guard Ben Bredeson left the game with what appeared to be a hamstring injury. One bright spot: rushing for 113 yards (53 from Tucker, 38 from White, and 11 apiece from receivers Sterling Shepard and Kam Johnson) against the No. 1-ranked run defense. And Tucker was the first running back this season to surpass 50 yards against that unit.

“It’s difficult (losing key players offensively), but we’ve been dealing with it all year,” he said. “ We’ve got to find a way to win games. That’s really where we are at this point. The guys we have on this team have to step up and we have to find a way to win games with the guys we have.”

If there’s a silver lining, Irving’s return likely sometime soon should help. But for now, Sunday was a wakeup call that the Bucs have serious work to do, in order to be the team they want to be.