Extra Point: Takeaways From The Buccaneers Loss To The Texans

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are now losers of four straight games. Not good when you consider where they were heading into the bye week. Their 39-37 loss to the Houston Texans was likely their worst of the year when you factor in the offense finally putting points on the board.

The defensive collapse against a rookie quarterback was, to be straight to the point, ugly. Penalties, miscommunication, and coverage breakdowns again plagued the Buccaneers. There were some bright spots though and Tampa Bay is still just one and a half games out of first place in the division. The team will need to get back on track when the Titans come to town in Week 10.

Here are my top takeaways from the Bucs Week 9 loss.

Offense Finally Finds Their Groove

It’s been a long time coming for this Buccaneers offense who has struggled to score points all season. The 37 points they put up in Sunday’s loss to the Texans is the highest point total the Bucs have scored all year. The running game started to find its way behind 73 yards rushing from Rachaad White, who also found the endzone twice on the ground.

For the most part, Baker Mayfield found the open receiver and moved the ball effectively, and didn’t turn the ball over. They took their deep shots, finding Mike Evans for a 53-yard gain, and had four plays go for 20 or more yards in the passing game. Evans had a 41-yard catch negated for offensive pass interference and a 37-yard pass intended for Trey Palmer drew a defensive pass interference call.

While there were still plenty of head-scratching moments, including a three-and-out series featuring Ke’Shawn Vaughn. As well as an insistence on running the ball on first down, there were signs of growth from the offense. It appears the team has a better grasp of what the scheme is and they’re playing without thinking. If the trend continues the Bucs should be able to push the ball down the field more and score more points per game than they have been.

Zone Defense Isn’t Working

Insanity is loosely defined as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. That pretty much sums up the Bucs head coach Todd Bowles's soft zone defense. Week after Week since the bye the Buccaneers' defense has continued to let up big plays. On Sunday they allowed eight plays of 20 yards or more and for the season they’ve allowed 36! Most of those plays have come in their last four losses.

The Bucs boast two of the top press-man corners in the game with Jamel Dean and Carlton Davis, yet Bowles rarely utilizes them in ways that will highlight their skill set. Tampa Bay is paying their top corners roughly $29 million to play ten yards off of their man and defenses are exploiting it with quick passes to get their receivers in space. Bowles has got to orchestrate a game plan that allows his players to do what they do best.

Bucs Still In It

Four straight losses and a 3-5 record doesn’t necessarily inspire hope but the truth is the Buccaneers are still very much in the mix to win the NFC South. As of today they are only one and a half games out of first place with four divisional games remaining and a relatively easy schedule.

Prior to Sunday’s loss, the Bucs defense was ranked sixth in the NFL allowing just 18.3 points per game. A lot of what transpired are coachable mistakes and schematic issues that Bowles must figure out. The offense finally took a step in the right direction putting in the highest point total yet this season and looked better in the run game than in recent weeks.

Likely losses to the 49ers and Jaguars loom, but the Bucs have winnable games starting this weekend with the Titans. From there they play the Colts, Packers, and Panthers twice and rematches against the Falcons and Saints. If the Bucs can go 6-1 they can finish with a 9-8 record which will likely be enough to win the division for a third consecutive year and make the playoffs.

Three Up, Three Down

Up

RB Rachaad White

White has been excellent catching passes out of the backfield over the last three games and that continued in the loss to the Texans. He finished the game with 4 receptions for 44 yards including a 33-yard catch and run. The Bucs finally got the run game going as well behind White’s 73 yards on the ground. He had a season-long run of 16 yards and added two touchdowns in short yardage situations.

TE Cade Otton

Otton continues to be an iron man for the Bucs offense playing in 100 percent of the snaps. He stepped up this week with six catches on nine targets for 60 yards. He added two scores, including the go-ahead touchdown with 46 seconds remaining. He still struggles as a blocker but his performance this week was a trend in the right direction.

DT Calijah Kancey

Kancey is playing up to his draft status since getting back into the lineup. He notched his second career sack against the Texans and his burst and get-off is noticeable when he’s in the game. He finished the game with four tackles including three of them for a loss.

Down

HC Todd Bowles

Bowles had several, “What are you doing?!” moments in Sunday’s loss to the Texans. From clock mismanagement to play calling and scheme, Bowles was a major reason why this team lost on Sunday. While he’s not out on the field he has been consistently putting his players in positions where they are not playing to their maximum skill set. The soft zone coverage has led to more mistakes and players, outside of Antoine Winfield Jr, don't look comfortable. Things need to change and quickly if the Bucs are going to turn their season around.

CB Carlton Davis

Davis had his worst game of his professional career on Sunday against the Texans. He was in coverage for three of Houston’s touchdowns including the game winner. Davis was targeted in coverage eight times allowing seven catches for 112 yards and the three scores. The only incompletion was a dropped pass. While Davis isn't being played in a way that maximizes his strengths he needs to play better.

S Ryan Neal

Neal practically lives in this category. While he saw his role dramatically reduced in favor of Dee Delaney, he still struggled and was in on the 75-yard touchdown to Noah Brown.

You can follow JC Allen on Twitter @JCAllenNFL.

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