3 Takeaways from Buccaneers' Week 15 Loss vs. Bengals
As the Tampa Bay Buccaneers continue to struggle of late, they remain in the same place in the NFC South: first place. And they're still there after another tough showing on Sunday.
The Buccaneers got off to a strong start at Raymond James Stadium before going on to lose 34-23 to the Cincinnati Bengals. Tampa Bay, which has dropped three of four games since its Week 11 bye, scored the game's first 17 points. Then, Cincinnati scored 34 consecutive points and kept the Bucs from adding to the scoreboard until the final minute.
It was an up-and-down day for Tampa Bay quarterback Tom Brady, who threw for 312 yards and three touchdowns. However, he was also intercepted twice and lost a pair of fumbles, mistakes that led to the momentum shift in the Bengals' favor.
Here are three takeaways from the Buccaneers' Week 15 loss.
Brady's Uncharacteristic Mistakes Were Repeatedly Costly
Not only did Brady commit four turnovers on Sunday, but they all came in the second half. According to ESPN's Bill Barnwell, it was the first time that a Brady-led offense turned the ball over that many times in a half since Oct. 28, 2001, which was a New England Patriots loss to the Denver Broncos in the quarterback's first season as a starter.
Brady's miscues against the Bengals were quite costly, as they immediately scored touchdowns after three of those turnovers (which came in succession). By the time Brady was intercepted for the second time (his fourth turnover), the Buccaneers trailed 27-17 early in the fourth quarter.
"Two fumbles, two interceptions, you can't win football games like that," Brady said, per Scott Smith of the team's official site. "We had a good first half, we were in good position and then we literally just gave them the ball. If you give them the ball, obviously we can't score, and they're a good offense so they scored. They took advantage."
Tampa Bay scored points on three of its four first-half possessions, and the other resulted in a missed 50-yard field-goal attempt by Ryan Succop. So the Bucs showed they can string together good offensive drives. Now, they have to find ways to limit the mistakes that can allow a team to get back into a game, such as the Bengals did.
The Defense Showed What It's Still Capable of in First Half
Much like the Buccaneers' offense thrived in the first half, so did their defense. On the opening drive of the game, Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow was intercepted by Carlton Davis. Cincinnati's next three possessions all ended with punts.
Tampa Bay's defense didn't play nearly as well in the second half, but it was also put in difficult positions following the offensive miscues. The Bengals had only 237 total yards, but Burrow threw four touchdown passes, all of which came in the final 20 minutes and 42 seconds.
But the Bucs showed that they still have the type of unit capable of shutting down a strong offense this season.
"You seen what kind of performance we can do," Tampa Bay linebacker Devin White said, per Mark Didtler of the Associated Press. "If we can put together those for four quarters, man, we're one of the best teams in this thing. I truly believe that."
However, the Buccaneers will need other areas to improve to take some of the stress off their defense, which negatively impacted it on Sunday.
The Bucs Have a Good Opportunity to Win NFC South
Even at 6-8, the Buccaneers control their own destiny. If they win out the rest of the way, they're guaranteed to be the NFC South champions for the second consecutive year.
"We have three games left to try and save our season," Tampa Bay head coach Todd Bowles said, per Didtler.
Fortunately for the Bucs, their schedule gets a bit lighter from here. While their past two games were against top playoff contenders (the San Francisco 49ers and the Bengals), their final three matchups are against the Arizona Cardinals (4-10), Carolina Panthers (5-9) and Atlanta Falcons (5-9).
In addition to the Panthers and Falcons, the New Orleans Saints are also 5-9, with each of those teams sitting only one game back of the Buccaneers in the division. Tampa Bay is 3-1 in NFC South play thus far, but it will be looking to avenge a Week 7 loss to Carolina when the teams meet again in Week 17.
At this point, it's hard to imagine that Brady and the host of other talented players on the Bucs' roster won't power the team into the postseason, given those remaining contests. But they're going to need to play much better than they have for most of the year.