29-28 loss<\/a>\u00a0to Atlanta on Thursday night was the latest debacle during a stretch where the team has dropped five of the last six games since starting 6-2.<\/p>\nThe Bucs (7-7) still control their playoff hopes despite falling a half-game behind Carolina (7-6) in the NFC South. They face the Panthers next week and again in Week 18.<\/p>\n
But this team doesn\u2019t seem capable of going on a run. The Bucs need an overhaul and coach Todd Bowles sounded like someone who knows he\u2019s in trouble.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no …. answer for it,\u201d Bowles said in an expletive-filled postgame news conference. \u201cNo excuse for it. That\u2019s what you tell \u2018em in the locker room. Look in the …. mirror.\u201d<\/p>\n
The organization once fired Tony Dungy after consecutive playoff disappointments, even though co-owner Ed Glazer considers him \u201cthe most significant person ever in Buccaneer history.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Glazers also fired Jon Gruden, who won the franchise\u2019s first Super Bowl title.<\/p>\n
Even if the Buccaneers make the playoffs, another one-and-done isn\u2019t going to cut it.<\/p>\n
Bowles\u2019 response to Mike Evans\u2019 stellar performance in his first game back from a broken clavicle spoke volumes.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe played winning football. He cares,\u201d Bowles said. \u201cHe\u2019s one of the guys that cares. He gave his heart. He gave his all.\u201d<\/p>\n
That indicates that not enough players care. Bowles backtracked when asked who doesn\u2019t. But the point was already made.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey all care. It\u2019s just a matter of execution,\u201d Bowles said. \u201cThey all care. There\u2019s nobody out there trying to mess it up. But at some point you\u2019ve got to get it right.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a player-driven team in the last four or five weeks. You\u2019ve got to execute. They\u2019ve got to hold each other accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Baker Mayfield blamed himself for the loss because he threw a pick late in the game. He has previously challenged teammates to work harder and agreed with Bowles.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have talent. Talent doesn\u2019t get you (anything), though,\u201d Mayfield said, also using an expletive. \u201cDoing the work and executing on game day does. We didn\u2019t do that.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to win out to get to the playoffs. To win the division, we have to win out. We put ourselves in a position to do that. If the guys don\u2019t handle this the right way, then we have a much deeper issue.\u201d<\/p>\n
What\u2019s working<\/p>\n
Run game. The Bucs had 88 yards on 22 carries but didn\u2019t seem to run the ball enough, especially with opportunities to work the clock late in the game.<\/p>\n
What needs help<\/p>\n
Defense. They can\u2019t pressure the quarterback. They can\u2019t cover tight ends. They can\u2019t tackle. They give up too many big plays. The Falcons faced a third-and-28 on the final drive, gained 14 yards and then got 20 on fourth-and-14.<\/p>\n
Stock up<\/p>\n
Evans had six catches for 132 yards in his return. He also drew several penalties. The six-time Pro Bowl receiver played with passion and emotion. He appeared disgusted walking off the field after the loss.<\/p>\n
Stock down<\/p>\n
Offensive line. They allowed five sacks and too many pressures.<\/p>\n
Injuries<\/p>\n
CB Zyon McCollum (hip) left the game in the first half. … LG Ben Bredeson (knee) was out after being placed on injured reserve. … DB Tykee Smith (neck\/shoulder), LB SirVocea Dennis (hip), TE Cade Otton (knee) and CB Benjamin Morrison (hamstring) didn\u2019t play vs. Atlanta.<\/p>\n
Key stat<\/p>\n
365 \u2014 The Bucs gave up that many yards passing in another poor performance and managed just one sack on the immobile Kirk Cousins.<\/p>\n
Next steps<\/p>\n
The Buccaneers visit Carolina, which plays at New Orleans on Sunday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TAMPA, Fla. (AP) \u2014 The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are going through the type of freefall that ends up…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":83705,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[2205,28,115,4548,110,135,4547,137,136],"class_list":{"0":"post-83704","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tampa","8":"tag-associated-press","9":"tag-florida","10":"tag-news","11":"tag-professional-football","12":"tag-sports","13":"tag-tampa","14":"tag-tampa-bay-bucs","15":"tag-tampa-headlines","16":"tag-tampa-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83704","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=83704"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83704\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/83705"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=83704"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=83704"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=83704"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}