Monday, 4 a.m.
In defeat, one question remains.
At just what level are the Tampa Bay Bucs.
They are better than Chicago and Minnesota, probably New Orleans. They are not as good as Philadelphia and Detroit. Instead, the 3-2 Bucs are somewhere in between, leading the NFC South (where all four teams lost Sunday), but not really considered a contender for the Super Bowl.
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The Lions brought the Bucs back down to earth Sunday, winning a comfortable 20-6 decision. Quarterback Baker Mayfield, too, was ordinary, throwing for just 205 yards. With a still-dormant running game (46 yards) and an awful third-down game (two for 12), the Bucs didn’t give themselves enough of a threat.
"I think we were two of 12 on third down, which was not very good at all," said Bucs' coach Todd Bowles. "We weren't good on first or second down, either, so you can say the whole game was a wash from an offensive standpoint."
It was Mayfield’s lowest quarterback rating of the season at 55.2. In the Bucs three wins, he has a rating of 111.92. In the two losses, his grade has been 57.93.
Mayfield misfired on several deep shots, two of them to Trey Palmer. He had a pass knocked down at the line with Mike Evans surfing open early in the game.
"We sucked today," Mayfield said. "I sucked today, we sucked today. It was awful from the get-go. I mean, (we) just can't play like that. We didn't start fast, we didn't pick it up in the middle, we didn't finish strong. If we play like that, we're going to lose every time."
The other team's second-chance quarterback, Jared Goff, had a better day. He threw for 353 yards and two touchdowns although, it should be said, he didn't have a running game either.
LaVonte David had 12 tackles, a sack, a passed defensed and two tackles for losses.
Chris Godwin had six catches for 77 yards.
The Bucs are home on Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons for a 1 p.m. division game.