Bucs come up short against the Colts 27-20

The Bucs have lost six of their last seven games.

Tampa Bay’s playoff hopes start to dim as the Buccaneers fall to the Indianapolis Colts 20-27. What appeared to be a winnable game became a nightmare for the Bucs as they looked unprepared and undisciplined on both sides of the ball. On defense, the dam of red zone stops and run defense broke, and the offense could not get out of its own way, turning the ball over twice.

The Bucs took a 3-0 lead with their opening drive, but after driving down to Indianopolis’ three-yard line, settling for the field goal would prove prescient for the rest of the day. It would be also be Tampa Bay’s only lead of the day.

After the Bucs defense held the Colts to a field goal on the following drive, Baker Mayfield threw an interception into triple coverage which Indy converted into a touchdown. The Colts scored a second touchdown on their next drive, overcoming a 4th-and-1 with a 24-yard pass Michael Pittman catch.

The Bucs looked to climb of the hole with a little help from Colts quarterback Gardner Minshew who struggled down the stretch of the first half. He threw a interception Bucs cornerback Carlton Davis III that Tampa Bay turned into points with a 1-yard touchdown catch by Mike Evans.

After the Colts opened the second half with a field goal, the Bucs defense forced a turnover on downs when Indy failed to convert on 4th and 6. Tampa Bay’s offense responded with their own fourth down conversion and Mike Evans’ second touchdown of the day, cutting the Colts lead to just three.

The Bucs defense failed to keep the game close, allowing the Colts to convert a 4th-and-1 on another play-fake pass, this time a 30-yard completion to tight end Mo Alie-Cox. Indianapolis capped the drive with three Jonathan Taylor runs into the endzone.

Tampa Bay’s attempts to get back into the game fell short as they stalled in the red zone on the next drive, settling for a field goal. After forcing a quick three-and-out, the Bucs attempted to drive down the field one last time. However, Colts defensive end Sam Ebukam beat left tackle Tristan Wirfs to strip-sack Baker Mayfield. The ball was recovered by Indianapolis, ending the game.

While the loss does not eliminate the Bucs’ playoff chances, Tampa Bay did not play like a team that can contend even in a division as weak as the NFC South. The usually stout run defense allowed 5.7 yards per carry to Jonathan Taylor and the Colts run game, and the secondary continues to allow easy completions, including the two fourth-down conversions.

The offense showed more incremental improvement, particularly the run game which recorded a season-best 6.6 yards per carry. Still, many of the same issues remain. Receivers are still dropping passes at the worst possible times and Baker Mayfield’s ball security problems persist for another week.

The uneven play on both sides of the ball could well be the undoing of head coach Todd Bowles, whose seat has begun to sizzle with the Bucs at 4-7. Continued regression on defense and a lack of improvement on offense exhibited against Indianapolis will not only keep Tampa Bay out of the playoffs. It could lead to a change at head coach as well.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=1364]