Buccaneers can’t take advantage of opportunity
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had a chance to make a statement on Thursday night in front of the nation against the New England Patriots. Unfortunately they bumbled it away in every which way, falling 19-14 at Raymond James Stadium.
Tampa Bay started the night out well enough, with rookie corner Justin Evans intercepting Tom Brady on the opening series. For Brady, it was his first interception on the season, although Tampa Bay could do nothing with it, ending the drive in a punt.
Throughout the affair, punts reigned supreme for the home team in a contest that could have been had. The Buccaneers punted six times in the game, while three other drives ended with Nick Folk missing field goals. It was a night marred by Tampa Bay’s complete and utter inability to move the ball through three quarters, followed by blown chances on the rare occasion New England found itself in trouble.
Perhaps no play illustrated that theme better than the Buccaneers watching as Jameis Winston missed a wide open DeSean Jackson down the sideline for what would have been a third-quarter, 69-yard touchdown to put Tampa Bay in the lead.
It also has to be said that the kicking game must be fixed. Folk’s maladies either have to be corrected or jettisoned, with a long break ahead to find a capable kicker.
In the end, the Buccaneers put forth a tough effort defensively that held the high-powered Patriots to only 19 points and a single touchdown. Brady ended the game with 303 yards passing but a lost fumble and the aforementioned interception. The rushing attack fared well for New England, though, racking up 113 yards on 4.9 yards per carry.
On the surface, it appears the Buccaneers had a good offensive day with 409 yards, but more than half of that came in the fourth quarter with the Patriots largely protecting a two-score lead. Tampa Bay was undone by a third-down conversion rate of 31 percent (4-of-13), with the offense not converting in this situation once until deep into the second half.
At 2-2, the Buccaneers still have everything in front of them. Next week, Tampa Bay will go to the desert and take on the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday night, getting a chance to bounce back against an inferior opponent. If there were positives to take from the defeat, it was a turnover-free night from Winston and Jackson finally getting out of his rut, catching five passes for a team-best 106 yards.
Tampa Bay can go to bed knowing it remains firmly in the playoff mix, but it might be hard getting good sleep knowing a terrific opportunity was allowed to slip away and into the night.
