Bucs give it away in Dallas
On a day when the defense played their best game of the season and the Dallas Cowboys offense could not get untracked, The Bucs committed 2 costly turnovers that led to Dallas TD‘s as the Cowboys won the NFC East title 27-20.
This was a game the Bucs certainly had a chance to win and I will make a case that they should have won but the Bucs could not do enough offensively to get the win.
The bucs offense has been a disgrace these last few weeks and can’t seem to score with any kind of consistency.
The offense moved the ball at will between the 20’s but once inside the 20 the offense ground to a halt. Give the Dallas defense a little bit of credit, but there was no excuse for the number of penalties in the red zone, the poor clock management by Koetter, and Jameis Winston‘s red zone decision making in the second half left a lot to be desired.
On the first possession of the game, the Bucs took the ball down the field and had to settle for a Cairo Santos 37 yard FG as they could not convert in the red zone.
Then the Bucs decided to play giveaway as Jameis Winston fumbled the ball at the Dallas 31 and Randy Gregory of the Cowboys returned the ball 69 yards to put the Cowboys up 14-3.
The Cowboys led 17-13 at the half, and went up 27-13 after 3 quarters. The last Dallas TD coming on another Jamies Winston turnover. Winston fumbled deep in his own territory and Dallas retuned the ball to the TB 4 yard line and the Cowboys took one Play to score.
If Winston does not have these turnovers the Bucs win this game as the defense kept the Dallas offense in check throughout the afternoon. The Cowboys only gained 232 yards of offense.
Ezekiel Elliott ran for 85 yards and Amari Cooper had 4 catches for 20 yards. The Bucs defense did their job and it wasn’t good enough on this particular day.
For all the moaning and groaning from the fan base about the play of Winston, he will be back next year because right now there is no one available that the Bucs can easily pick up that would be a better player than Winston.
The Eagles would be silly to let Nick Foles walk. I don’t see that happening. How about 34 year old Joe Flacco under center? No thanks. Teddy Bridgewater is an interesting option, but not sure he would be more effective than Winston because of his style of play.
There is no one coming out of college in the draft that I can say with certainty that I would prefer right now to have starting over Winston. Will Grier out of West Virginia is an interesting option, but as long as Koetter is here Winston will be the QB.
It is very disappointing that this has seemed to be the cycle every three or four years. Losing seasons, fire the coach and GM, get a new QB and then do it all over again. Not a recipie for a strong organization.
At some point the Glazers need to held accountable for this mess and revolting door they have created.
The Atlanta Falcons will be here next weekend as the Bucs and Falcons battle for last place in the divison.
Doesn’t matter what happens in that game, The Bucs cannot redeem themselves from another disappointing season, and the 11th season in a row with no playoffs in Tampa.
The fans deserve better.
