Bucs let another game slip away

by Gary Shelton on November 11, 2024

in general

Irving had 73 yards rushing./TIM WIRT

Monday, 4 a.m.

Have you heard this one before?

The Tampa Bay Bucs played a better opponent, one that played in last season’s Super Bowl, to the wire. They found themselves in a tie late in the game.

And they lost.

Again.

The Bucs lost 23-20 to the San Francisco 49ers Sunday for their fourth straight defeat. Once again, their defense couldn’t hold when it counted. Once again, the opposing quarterback carved them up when it mattered the most. Once again, the Bucs lost, falling to 4-6 on the season. Once again, they let a chance to pull off an upset slip away.




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San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy took his team 39 yards  in 47 seconds to set up a winning 44-yard field goal by Jake Moody as time expired for the winning points. Moody had missed three field goals earlier in the game, but hit the one that counted.

The Bucs, just like in the overtime period against Kansas City, were passive on defense during the final drive.

"[We] have to finish ballgames,” Bucs' coach Todd Bowles said."[When] guys get a chance to play, they have to come in, play and execute. We can’t play hard and then not play smart at the end. We have to play smarter football. There’s nothing wrong with how hard we’re playing and how tough we’re playing, but we have to finish games. We have to find a way to finish ballgames. [We’re] making too many mistakes at the end.”

The game came six days after the Bucs lost 30-23 to the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Bucs lost another star player -- this time left tackle Tristan Wirfs.

The Bucs have now lost four straight — to the division-leading Falcons, to the Ravens, to the Chiefs and to the 49ers.

"We’re trying to win the game," Bowles said of the late defense. "We’re trying to win the game. We had to rush the passer and the DBs (defensive backs) had to cover. It doesn’t matter who was in the ballgame, you understand what the game plan is, you have to execute, and we didn’t execute.”

The Bucs gave themselves a chance with a 58-yard drive on their last possession. Mayfield’s biggest play on the drive was an eight-yard completion

to Rachaad White on fourth-and-seven as he held off Joey Bosa with a stiff arm.

“It’s a matter of wins and losses, and we’re still not winning, so it still sucks," Mayfield said. "[We’ve] got to play to win down there at the end on offense. It’s trying to balance bleeding the clock out so they don’t have too much time, but also, go win the game. Unfortunately, [we] had a negative play down there that set us back a little bit. [I] just have to make a better throw, or win our one-on-one matchups, and somehow find a way to win. That’s all that matters."

Aside from that, the 49ers were called for defensive holding, a face mask, a roughing the passer and an illegal use of hands. 

Mayfield had just 116 yards passing.

Mayfield said the team needs to heal.

"We've got to get healthy. Take the week [to] get healthy [and] get your mind ready to make this stretch [run.] Lavonte [David] hit on it perfectly that we’re going to need everything that we possibly have down the road –one day at a time, in practice and in games. We’ve just got to put it together. We keep saying we’re that close, but it’s got to be the message. You have to believe in it, and then we just have to go execute. We have the group –the fight in what we’re doing at the end of games, the effort is never a question. That’s something that, ‘Alright, we have that. Now, let’s go execute.’ Just plain and simple –do your job and we’ll turn this thing around quickly

"They’re all bad," Bowles said. "Whether you lose by 40 or you lose at the end in overtime, they’re all bad. You want to win ballgames [in] any way possible. It’s disheartening when we don’t execute the things that we know we have to execute –to lose those ballgames instead of just trying to win it.”

The Bucs have their bye week next week. In two weeks, they play at the New York Giants.

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