Turnovers, Mistakes Doom Bucs in 23-20 Loss to Texans
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers made it close against a playoff-bound opponent, but couldn't overcome five turnovers and other self-inflicted wounds in Saturday's 23-20 defeat at the hands of the Houston Texans.
Jameis Winston threw four more interceptions, stretching his NFL lead in that category as Tampa Bay ended a four-game winning streak.
Winston's first pass of the game was intercepted and returned for a touchdown by Houston's Bradley Roby, marking the sixth time this season Winston has been picked off on the his opening drive. He would throw another interception on the next drive that was also returned for a touchdown, but an illegal block on the return nullified the touchdown.
Winston's third interception came early in the second quarter, and his final one sealed the loss on what could have been a game-winning drive in the final minutes.
Tampa Bay fell behind 17-3 in the first half, but rallied with two late touchdowns, helped by a key interception by rookie cornerback Jamel Dean. Touchdowns by Ronald Jones II and Justin Watson helped the Bucs tie the game heading into halftime.
The two teams traded field goals in the second half, with the Texans getting the eventual game-winner with 7:16 remaining in the game.
The Bucs mounted what looked like a potential go-ahead drive midway through the fourth-quarter, but a wide-open Cameron Brate dropped a would-be conversion on 4th-and-1 to turn the ball over to Houston deep in their territory.
Despite turning the ball over five times, the Bucs remained in the game until the final moments thanks to an impressive performance from the defense. Jason Pierre-Paul led the way with a trio of sacks, while Dean's pick and a fumble forced by Lavonte David and recovered by Devin White gave Tampa Bay two takeaways of their own.
The Bucs held Deshaun Watson in check for much of the game, limiting the Houston quarterback to just 184 yards, no touchdowns and one interception through the air. Similarly, DeAndre Hopkins was kept from making a huge impact on the game, catching five passes for just 23 yards.
In the absence of both of their Pro Bowl wide receivers, Tampa Bay got a huge contribution from Breshad Perriman, who led the team with seven receptions for 102 yards
Tampa Bay lost despite nearly doubling up the Texans in total yardage, gaining 439 yards to Houston's 225. Tampa Bay only committed six penalties for 45 yards, but multiple infractions came in key moments that proved to be costly.
The loss drops the Bucs to 7-8 on the season, giving them one last opportunity to avoid another losing record in next week's season finale at home against the Atlanta Falcons.
This win for Houston locked up the AFC South title for the 10-5 Texans.
