“Not What We Expect In This Locker Room”
October 7th, 2024
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BY IRA KAUFMAN
The injury-riddled Buc defense was ravaged Thursday night, but let’s not overlook a dismal second-half performance on the other side of the ball.
Led by a spry Kirk Cousins, Atlanta rolled up 550 yards — the most by a Tampa Bay opponent in eight years. Cousins threw for 509 of those yards, setting a record for a Falcons franchise that began play in 1966, when Todd Bowles was still a toddler.
We all saw the soft coverage, poor tackling and inconsistent pass rush. There’s obviously a lot to clean up for a defense hoping to get Antoine Winfield Jr. and Calijah Kancey back for the New Orleans game. It didn’t help when Jordan Whitehead went off with a groin injury and never returned.
Despite all those defensive issues, the Bucs had every opportunity to put this game away. All they needed was a key first down or two in crunch time.
“We did really well as an offense in the first half,” said Cade Otton. “We felt like we had control, but we didn’t execute well enough to win the game, simple as that. I think about those last couple of possessions as an offense. We had control of the game. We could have won it if we executed … we didn’t.”
After scoring 24 points in the opening half, the Bucs were limited to two field goals the rest of the way in a 36-30 OT setback. Rachaad White and Bucky Irving combined for 10 carries and 24 yards in that fateful span. Mayfield threw for only 49 yards after halftime, targeting Mike Evans and Chris Godwin just twice apiece.
Without Mayfield’s 43 yards on scrambles, Tampa Bay would have gained only 68 yards overall in five second-half possessions.
“This one sucks, a game we definitely should have won,” Cody Mauch said. “We should have closed it out on offense. We’ve got to do better in the second half. We had only two field goals and that’s not what we expect in this locker room.”
Part of the problem in the second half was the inability of Tampa Bay’s defense to get off the field. The Falcons had 38 snaps, compared to only 26 for the visitors.
“You’ve got to give credit where credit is due,” said Lavonte David, whose fourth-down interception at the Atlanta 28 with less than two minutes remaining in regulation appeared to secure a victory. “They finished the ballgame and we didn’t. The game is never over and you can’t really think that way. Cousins gave his playmakers a chance to make plays.”
Tampa Bay’s struggles to move the ball effectively in the second half represented a critical waste of favorable field position. The average drive start for the Bucs in their final five possessions? Try the Tampa Bay 43. Scoring only six points in that scenario is a travesty, one that Liam Coen had to lose sleep over.
Now the Bucs must move on, knowing it’s the Saints who face a short week in their Big Easy matchup against Tampa Bay.
“We’re got to go back to the drawing board and come back ready to go,” David said.
For Otton, Thursday night’s loss was painful — but far from crippling.
“We’ve got no choice how to respond,” he said. “We’re not going to let this one game define us. Still, we’ve got to learn from it for sure. There’s no time to feel sorry for ourselves. We’ll take the weekend to get our minds right and then it’s back to work, having a winning mentality.”
Ira Kaufman Assesses The Atlanta Damage, Points Fingers & Finds Hope, And More
October 7th, 2024 at 9:01 am
This loss has Todd Bowles’ fingerprints all over it. Sickening loss. Pathetic loss.
We all know what’s coming. Loss, Loss, Loss and Loss. But hey, we got some special culture here. Give me a friggin break.
October 7th, 2024 at 9:06 am
Excellent piece Sage; one of your best IMO.
Otton said it perfectly … “We’ve got no choice how to respond. We’re not going to let this one game define us.”
It serves zero purpose to whine & moan about the one that got away. My favorite saying from my military years and afterwards running businesses was always … ‘It’s not what happens to you in life that’s important, it’s what you do about it’. The Bucs’ response as individuals AND as a TEAM is all that’s important right now.
October 7th, 2024 at 9:14 am
Maybe I am missing something but I have not seen ONE person ask Todd Bowles as to WHYYYYYYYY the Bucs gave Kirk Cousins the underneath stuff all night and they continued to do so. Why was that the game plan when that is what Cousins does best. Giving up 42 completions is not a run of the mill bad game, it’s disgraceful, embarassing. How has a coach given up like 20% of all 500 yard games in NFL history, why isn’t anyone holding him more accountable among the local media. No one should accept this
October 7th, 2024 at 9:16 am
BucU … ‘We all know what’s coming. Loss, Loss, Loss and Loss.’
YOU may believe that BucU, but most JBFers have more faith than that. Getting key players like Winfield, Whitehead, Kancey, Goedeke, Palmer & McMillan back in the starting lineup & getting several other ‘walking wounded’ healthy is critical IMO. In the meantime, our backups are gaining good experience, but they’re backups for a reason.
We’ve got 5 games before our BYE week; all of them toughies. IF we get enough starters back, I’m convinced that we can go 3-2 in that stretch. Even 2-3 would at least put us at break-even (5-5) at the BYE, with the opportunity to (HOPEFULLY) go 10-7 by season’s end. That SHOULD put us in the hunt for a playoff spot.
October 7th, 2024 at 10:06 am
Too bad the Bucs have a non-head coach who is really just an overrated Defensive Coordinator who would rather surprise experts with unexpected gameplans that don’t work, and drop D-linemen into coverage rather than using them to rush the passer. “Don’t let the ball go over your head” translates into Jamel Dean playing 20 yards off and letting the guys catch 20 yarders uncontested all game long.
So sick of Todd.
October 7th, 2024 at 10:29 am
“Spry Kirk Cousins.” Sadly, I agree with that statement. Still thinking he is a wild card and won’t be spry for too long. It’s still early.
October 7th, 2024 at 10:51 am
Bowles has to take his own advice. “Fight until the end”. AND use his best weapons. There were some terrific games this weekend.
October 7th, 2024 at 11:06 am
Buc u. Totally agree with Todd’s fingerprints all over this mess of a loss. Really thought his balls dropped a little last year but that was terrible last 2 minutes and on D was a nightmare all night
October 7th, 2024 at 11:11 am
DR, my thoughts exactly. The negativity and pessimism from too many Bucs fans is disheartening. Suck it up folks. Believe it or not, this is a good football team. They just played poorly against the Falcons.
October 7th, 2024 at 11:41 am
Personel define scheme. Lack of pressure ( Kancey) , lack of speed ( Dennis), and lack of a secondary pass wrecker ( Winfield) means everything must be played to protect against the deep threats. Hence, huge cushions. It was working early in the game, as Atlanta struggled in red zone first half. When your opponent has 30 more offensive snaps, you’re asking a lot from a tired defense late. Bucky missed his gaps on the last two runs. Rookie not trusting the design. Everybody ripping the play calls late, but failure to execute by Bucky is a lesson learned.
October 7th, 2024 at 2:29 pm
Kirk Cousins is sharp. He’s tough. He throws a dart.
Does Braswell even have 1 pressure so far?
We needed a CB in round 2. Not a 5th OLB. Who is slow and small.
October 7th, 2024 at 3:10 pm
PSL Bob Says:
The negativity and pessimism from too many Bucs fans is disheartening. Suck it up folks. Believe it or not, this is a good football team.
We’ve had a good team for like 5 years, they are just so inconsistent like Winston, they were praised all week for the eagles game and deservedly so but now they have to be babied and can’t handle criticism? Everyone is more angry at Bowles anyway.
October 7th, 2024 at 5:17 pm
Well, I’m not angry at Bowles. I hope Milton doesn’t totally level RJS. Bucs are 3-2. Face it, Raheem Morris had his team ready. The same thing happened last season. We split with Atlanta and wiped out the other two teams. We won the NFCSo. We didn’t win it SB year. Aints did. Bucs will win this next one. I just hope something is left of Tampa.
October 7th, 2024 at 8:01 pm
I’m not angry at Bowles either. You can’t blame a skunk because he smells bad. Todd is who he is. Overly conservative, middle of the pack players coach. He’s a good guy. It’s just not good enough. The players deserve better. So do the fans.
October 8th, 2024 at 12:38 pm
Gofortheface30.
Agree 💯 and it’s not cousins first bitch slap of bowls and the Bucs.
Remember the “How do you like that ” game ,which by the way we still hear about!!