Monday, 4 a.m.
When it is all over, when the season no longer has a pulse, this may be the play that you remember.
Call it the fumble that may have killed the post-season.
With the Bucs looking to pull out an improbable comeback, Rachaad White fumbled away the Bucs’ last breath. He had taken a short pass from Baker Mayfield, who somehow stayed upright long enough to flick the ball out to White. White rambled for eight yards, but lost the ball as he tried to struggle forward. Dallas recovered to close out the 26-24 victory.
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The Bucs could have won the game with 3-4 first downs and a field goal by Chase McLaughlin. But the Bucs sputtered on and off on both offense and defense throughout the night.
"He had two hands on the ball," quarterback Baker Mayfield said. "Obviously, you have to be careful. Not to beat a dead horse, but the same thing happened to me earlier in the game. I had it ripped out of my hands. They made some plays when it mattered."
"We lost," Bucs coach Todd Bowles said. "It’s disapoointing. We’ve got to coach it better. We’ve gott play better on special teams. We've got play better offensively and defensively."
For most of the night, the Bucs dropped passes, missed tackles and drew penalties. No wonder the game got away from them.
For instance, Mike Evans had just one catch for 10 yards in the second half. Bucky Irving carried just twice in the fourth period,
And the defense? Goodness, was it not good.
Cooper Rush threw for 292 yards against the Bucs’ weak secondary. Rush had a rating of 108.3 against the Bucs. He was sacked just once on his 35 passes. Receiver CeeDee Lamb caught seven passes for 105 yards.
Dallas has won four of its last five games.
The Bucs went into the game leading the NFC South. They came out, however, trailing Atlanta because of the tie-breaker. If Atlanta beats Washington and Carolina they will win the division.
The Bucs trailed 26-14 with 6:33 to go in the third period. But McLaughlin hit a 46-yard field goal, and Baker Mayfield led the Bucs on an 87-yard drive to cut the deficit to two points. Mayfield hit eight-of-eight passes on the drive.
Tampa Bay stopped Dallas and took over at their 26 with 100 seconds left to try a winning field goal. But on the first play, White lost his fumble.
Mayfield threw for 303 yards and two touchdowns. Evans caught five passes for 69 yards. Evans needs 182 yards to break the 1,000-yard barrier again.
True, the Bucs still have a shot. Atlanta has turned its offense over to rookie Michael Penix, and it has to travel to play a good Washington team Sunday. The Bucs are home in their next two games — Sunday against Carolina and the season finale against New Orleans.