When the Tampa Bay Buccaneers upset the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday Night Football, it finally breathed life into their season, and there was even a bit of optimism that they could go on a run and get back into the NFC South race.

Those positive vibes lasted about a week.

After Sunday's home loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, where the Bucs blew a 16-3 lead in the fourth quarter, the season once again looks lost.

Tampa was in control for much of the game, but the Bucs' inability to finish drives with touchdowns and settling for field goals came back to haunt them, a common theme of their season from hell.

Jalon Daniels imploded in the final quarter, throwing a pair of brutal interceptions that helped turn a 16-3 lead into a 19-16 deficit. Tampa needed a 53-yard field goal from Chase McLaughlin with eight seconds left to send the game to overtime, only to see the Steelers easily drive down the field for a touchdown to go up 26-19.

Daniels was then sacked on fourth down, the fifth of the day for Pittsburgh's defense, and the game was over.

The Bucs are now 1-5 and sit 2.5 games behind the Carolina Panthers in the NFC South.

The loss dropped Tampa one spot in ESPN's weekly NFL power rankings. A brutal loss like that would normally see a team fall even further, but the Bucs don't have many teams beneath them.

The new rankings have Tampa 28th, once again a bottom-5 team in the NFL.

In this week's power rankings, ESPN highlighted one offensive issue plaguing each team.

For the Bucs, there are too many for Jenna Laine to choose only one.

"Biggest issue on offense: Almost everything

"Running back Bucky Irving ran all over the Cowboys two weeks ago and is averaging 4.7 yards a pop. Offensive coordinator Zac Robinson also called a good game that week. But with offense turning the ball over at least twice in four of six games, both quarterbacks (Baker Mayfield and Jalon Daniels) being under considerable duress and top Bucs receivers Emeka Egbuka and Chris Godwin Jr. ranking 58th and 71st in receiving yards, respectively ... things aren't going smoothly. -- Jenna Laine"

The offense has been a nightmare all season. From the turnovers to Mayfield's injury and the offensive line playing well short of expectations, the Bucs have not been able to take advantage of the strong play from their defense.

It appears that Mayfield's return is imminent, but it may be too late to salvage the season.

In fact, it may be time for Tampa to start turning its attention to the future. With a handful of players who could bring a decent return in a trade, the Bucs should be sellers at the trade deadline, which is November 10.

The Bucs have three more games before the deadline. They will likely need to win all three to potentially climb back into contention for the weak NFC South.

If they don't win all three, expect Tampa to start making moves with an eye on 2027 and beyond.