by Carter Brantley
Hey, remember all those concerns we had last week about the Bucs potentially being able to even win the division?
Well, they’re still there, as the Bucs had one of the more impressive choke jobs in recent memory, losing 29-28 Thursday night against the Falcons, falling to 7-7 for the season.
The Bucs put themselves in Prime (yuck, this feels like an ad for CEO, entrepreneur, born in 1964, Jeffrey, Jeffrey Bezos) position to get back on track by taking care of the ball early on and targeting the best receiver in Bucs history, as Evans had over 100 yards receiving in his first game back from a collarbone injury.
And yet, the team blew it in epic proportions, surrendering a 2-touchdown lead in the 4th quarter to lose on a game-winning Zane Gonzales kick.
The defense even had Atlanta pinned back in a 3rd and 18 situation with a chance to ice the game with under 2 minutes left to play.
Nope.
A few plays later, and Atlanta is watching the game winning kick sail through the uprights.
To try to focus on the positives, Evans was not alone in his contributions, as Chris Godwin and Devin Culp hauled in a couple of touchdown passes from the seemingly rejuvenated Baker Mayfield, and Sean Tucker hammered in a short touchdown rush to finish off an early touchdown drive for Tampa Bay.
The creamsicle jerseys were out and in full effect, as the stadium was hopping and charming with all of the retro decor, and even the pirate ship was covered in Christmas lights to celebrate the holiday season.
Baker Mayfield had an overall solid game but his late-game interception was all folks will likely remember, as it allowed this massive comeback from the Falcons to take place.
Can’t be a creamsicle Buccaneers game without Tampa Bay doing something stupid.
On defense they did a poor job limiting a Falcons offense that was led by tight end Kyle Pitts and running back Bijan Robinson.
Pitts got off to a smoking start, with a pair of touchdown receptions and over 100 yards receiving in the 1st half alone.
Robinson managed to rack up over 150 yards from scrimmage with a rushing touchdown sprinkled in to make the score respectable in the 4th quarter, but the former Longhorn suffered a costly turnover in the 4th quarter that set the Bucs up for an easy touchdown that should have put the game out of reach for those Dirty Birds.
The Creamsicle Crew’s problems certainly aren’t getting any better, with the Carolina Panthers getting to play those now-3-10 Saints (thanks to these damn Bucs) this weekend, hoping to advance their cause in winning this sorry division.
The Bucs have to face Bryce Young and those pesky Panthers twice before season’s end, 2 games that will play a large role in deciding who comes out on top of this garbage heap they call the NFC South.
Obviously the return of Evans and 2nd year wideout Jalen McMillan looms large for the Bucs as they get a much-needed boost to what was a bit of a stagnant offense in the middle of this roller coaster season, but will it even matter?
It’s certainly a Bucs life, because the Bucs are back in the loss column in embarrassing fashion for a 2nd straight week, with a trip to visit the Panthers coming next week.
But hey, at least they didn’t commit like 100 penalties.
