Monday, 4 a.m.
The season of the Tampa Bay Bucs is over. The final disappointment came Sunday, but the footsteps have been going on for a while.
The Bucs have so many places to assign blame for their collapse after a 5-1 start. The Bucs lost to Atlanta, and to Carolina, and to New Orleans, and to Miami in the closing weeks.
Down the stretch, Baker Mayfield's play dipped, and Emeka Egbuka's play fell off. The defense closed out well, but for most of the second half of the season, it played poorly.
It remains to be seen which direction the Bucs will go in the off-season at head coach, general manager and players.
The Falcons beat the Saints Sunday to force a tiebreaker. The Bucs lost.
The Bucs' post-season streak ends at five seasons.