The good, bad and ugly from Buccaneers' crushing loss to Dolphins

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers continue to shoot themselves in the foot after a crushing 20-17 loss to the Miami Dolphins.

Even in the face of defeat, the Buccaneers, somehow, still have a shot at winning the NFC South. It will all come down to next week’s home matchup against the Carolina Panthers, with the division and playoffs on the line. It was the same old song and dance for the Bucs. Missed tackles, blown coverages and turnovers led to Tampa Bay’s fourth straight loss and seventh in their last eight games.

The fact that they still have a chance at the playoffs is astounding considering the lack of urgency they have shown over the last month of football. The division would have been wrapped up last week if the Bucs had just handled their business against the Saints, Falcons and Panthers. Instead, the playoffs start early for the Bucs in what is essentially a play-in game.

After a fast start on both sides of the ball against the Dolphins, the Bucs did what they’ve done during their losing streak and self-implode. Penalties, turnovers and mental mistakes couldn’t outshine the positives of the day. Here is the good, bad, and ugly from the Bucs' loss to the Dolphins.

Good

WR Jalen McMillan

It was a big day for the second-year wide receiver after missing most of the season with a neck injury. McMillan got right to work with a huge third-down grab to move the sticks and finished with three receptions for 39 yards on the Bucs' opening scoring drive. He made another big grab, hauling in a 33-yard grab on second and fourteen during the offense’s two-minute drill before the half.

He did have a bonehead mistake, not touching Jason Marshall down after he picked off Baker Mayfield to allow return yards. However, he made up for it in the fourth quarter with another big third-down catch for 28 yards. He finished the day with seven receptions on nine targets for 113 yards.

WR Chris Godwin

Godwin opened up the scoring for the Bucs with the offense's first touchdown, a five-yard strike from Baker Mayfield. He came up big late in the fourth quarter with crucial grabs, including a fourth-down catch for 11 yards. In a last-ditch comeback effort with under two minutes remaining, Mayfield again found Godwin. This time, he took off for 59 yards on the catch and run to put him over 100 yards on the day. He finished with seven receptions on nine targets for 108 yards and a score.

OLB Yaya Diaby

It's sad to think what the Bucs pass rush would look like without Yaya Diaby. He’s the only player to consistently get pressure for the Bucs this season, even if the sack numbers haven’t translated. On the first drive of the second half, Diaby got to Dolphins quarterback Quinn Ewers for a loss of nine yards. Later in the first half, he was inches away from a forced fumble and was one of the only Bucs to get consistent pressure. I still want to see him take a game over.

Bad

LT Ben Chukwuma

To preface this, I thought Chukwuma had a great game outside of two plays. However, those two plays led to issues.

The first play was a sack on Mayfield on the first drive of the game, and while it still led to points, it was a learning moment for the young tackle. Where Chukwuma erred was by allowing Bradley Chubb to work back inside to sack Mayfield. The second play happened late in the fourth as the Bucs were trying to mount a comeback. It was Chubb again who was able to get to Mayfield for the strip sack that was recovered by former Buccaneer Quinton Bell to practically seal the win for the Dolphins. Outside of that, I thought it was a positive outing for the rookie lineman.

Run Game

A week after the Bucs went over 160 rushing yards as a team, they totaled just 53 yards against the NFL’s 26th-worst rush defense. If the plan last week was to get 30 rushing attempts, the team tried to overcorrect this week and overshot the mark. They had just eight rushing attempts in the first half and finished with 16 total against the Dolphins. Irving finished with just 19 yards on nine carries for a paltry 2.1 yards per carry average. Not good.

CB Jamel Dean

Dean freelancing again hurt the Bucs for the second week in a row. Trying to anticipate a throw underneath, he let his man behind him, expecting Tykee Smith to be in position to pick him up. He wasn't, and the Dolphins answered the Bucs' score with a 63-yard touchdown by Theo Wease. Dean also gave up a 13-yard completion to Greg Dulich before leaving the game with a shoulder injury.

Ugly

QB Baker Mayfield

Mayfield was excellent on the Bucs’ first drive, marching down the field and leading to an early lead. However, he started to self-destruct as the game went on and totaled three turnovers, nearly four on the day. His first pick came on the Bucs' third drive, attempting to go deep to McMillan, but it was underthrown. His next blunder came late in the third quarter, when he fumbled a pump fake on third down in the red zone. The Bucs were lucky to recover it, but had to settle for three.

There were several plays late in the game where he missed an open Mike Evans, dealing with placement issues on passes that would have moved the sticks on the sideline and a potential score in the end zone. Mayfield threw his second interception late in the fourth quarter with the team down 20-10 and trying to mount a comeback. Mayfield was targeting Emeka Egbuka on the play when Ashtyn Davis jumped the route to come up with it. On the very next possession, Mayfield fumbled again when blindside pressure got to him. He finished the day with 346 yards and two touchdowns, but three turnovers and costly decision-making helped the Bucs lose the game.

Bucs Defense

It’s hard to point to just one area where the Bucs defense was bad on Sunday.

The run defense was horrid. The Bucs allowed the Dolphins to accumulate 145 yards on the ground and Devon Achane to average 4.6 yards per carry, but it was as high as 7.1 yards earlier in the game. The pass defense was lousy, as Tampa Bay defense allowed rookie seventh-round pick Quinn Ewers to pick them apart, throwing for 172 yards and two scores.

The pass rush was inconsistent. The Bucs got two Ewers twice, with sacks coming from Yaya Diaby and Logan Hall in the first half, but then crickets. The lack of a consistent pass rush had killed the Bucs this year and did so once again on Sunday.

And middle of the field coverage? Ha. The Bucs allowed tight end Greg Dulich to have his best game of the season with five receptions for 58 yards and a touchdown. This defense is not good, and there's little doubt they can turn things around next week against the Panthers even if Calijah Kancey returns.

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