Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. St. Louis Rams: Tampa Bay Grades, Notes and Quotes

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have likely put the last nail in their playoff coffin with a 31-23 loss to the St. Louis Rams in front of a national audience Thursday night.

Tampa Bay mounted a late comeback bid, scoring 17 points in the fourth quarter, but failed to recover an onside kick that would have given it a chance to tie the game. The Rams ran out the clock, sending the Bucs to a 6-8 record and their second straight loss to a team with a losing record.

The Bucs fell behind early thanks to a pair of quick touchdown passes by Case Keenum, one each to Tavon Austin and Kenny Britt. The Rams took a commanding 28-6 lead into the fourth quarter before rookie quarterback Jameis Winston engineered the futile attempt at a rally.

Winston threw for 300 yards in a game for the first time in his NFL career, completing 29 of his career-high 50 pass attempts for 363 yards and a pair of touchdowns sandwiched around one interception. Doug Martin ran for 91 yards on 18 carries, taking over the top spot on the NFL rushing yards list for the moment, pending Adrian Peterson's performance for the Minnesota Vikings this Sunday.

A dominant St. Louis front four, led by defensive tackle Aaron Donald, dominated Tampa Bay. Though the Bucs didn't surrender a single sack, Winston was hit on numerous occasions, with the constant pressure forcing him into poor throws.

Mike Evans bounced back from a couple of bad drops in the first half to put together his third game of the season with over 150 receiving yards. The former top-10 pick also eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark in receiving for the second straight season and is just five yards shy of his rookie-year total from 2014 with two games still to go in 2015.

In the end, it was simply too little, too late for the Bucs, who wilted under the pressure of another national television appearance. There were a few bright spots, but the Bucs proved they're still a little too young and way too thin to be true contenders down the stretch.

Position Grades for Bucs

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Quarterback: C+

Winston struggled mightily in the first half but bounced back with a ridiculous performance in the final two quarters, throwing for 314 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the second half. His fiery leadership was evident as well, as it's clear he hates losing more than anyone else on the field. It wasn't quite enough to get a win, but Winston showed why he was more than worth this year's top overall draft pick.

Running Back: A

This group continues to do the best it can with what it has, putting up plenty of yards, both on the ground and through the air. The Bucs averaged 5.4 yards per carry, with Doug Martin and Charles Sims combining for 169 total yards, despite the offensive line getting ravaged for most of the night by one of the league's most dominant defensive lines.

Wide Receivers: C

There were some decent numbers by the end of the game, but the drops were just too plentiful and costly, and mental errors nearly cost Tampa Bay even more—particularly Donteea Dye's decision to toss the ball away after an impressive catch, not realizing he was never down by contact. This group gobbled up some garbage-time stats, but it should have had a bigger impact before the game got out of hand.

Tight End: C-

Much like the receivers, there were flashes of good, but the mistakes outweighed the positives. Austin Seferian-Jenkins hauled in a late touchdown that brought the Bucs within a score, but he also had an extremely costly penalty that turned a 1st-and-goal at the 1-yard line into an eventual field goal. Just hand the ball to the ref next time, Seferian-Jenkins.

Offensive Line: D

Keeping the Rams' dominant front four at bay was going to be a tall task, and the Bucs simply weren't ready to handle it. They didn't allow any sacks, but Winston got blown up on multiple occasions, and the pressure rushed far too many of his throws. They did a decent job in the run game but came up short in big moments. It was a rough night for this crew.

Defensive Line: C

Against the run, this unit was as good as it has been all season, bottling up Todd Gurley and holding the Rams to just three yards per carry. But it still can't generate pressure with any consistency, allowing Case Keenum to have his way with the Tampa Bay secondary. As good as it was against the run, it was just as bad when it came to impacting the passing game.

Linebackers: C-

Similar to the defensive line, this group got the job done against the run but failed to deliver in coverage. Orie Lemon looked lost, Danny Lansanah missed the defense's only real chance for a game-changing play by dropping a sure pick-six just before the half, and this unit clearly misses Kwon Alexander and Bruce Carter. Lavonte David can't play all three spots.

Secondary: F

I've avoided giving this group a failing grade for as long as I can, but Thursday night's effort against the league's worst passing offense was unforgivable. When Kenny Britt is scorching you for long scores, you're missing a handful of tackles on a single play, or you're making it look like Cirque du Soleil every time he touches the ball, it's a bad night. Oh, and Keenum looked like Dan Marino for at least the first half.

Special Teams: D

Short punts and inconsistent kick coverage doomed this group. Jake Schum failed to help the Bucs take control of the field-position game, while the kickoff coverage unit gave up multiple long returns, including a 98-yard near-touchdown right after a long Bucs touchdown drive.

Coaching: D

A lack of discipline and mental toughness continues to plague this team, and that comes from the top. Head coach Lovie Smith has to figure out how to right the ship in these areas if he wants to stick around in Tampa Bay.

Another Prime-Time Opportunity, Another Disappointing Performance

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In the Bucs' only prime-time appearance last season, the Atlanta Falcons blew them out, 56-14, in front of a national audience.

This time around, the score may have been closer in the end, but it was another embarrassing showing for Tampa Bay on the big stage.

Much like last week's loss to the Saints, the Bucs came out flat on both sides of the ball, unable to stop one of the league's most lackluster offenses and unable to turn long drives into anything more than a couple of field goals. By the time they mounted a furious rally in the fourth quarter, it was too late.

Once again, the Bucs had an opportunity to take advantage of being the only NFL game on television, and they blew it.

Winston Has a Career Day, Shows Fire but Falls Short

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After an abysmal first half that saw him throw for just 49 yards, Jameis Winston came alive in the second half, adding another 314 yards through the air for his first career 300-yard passing performance.

The rookie signal-caller also showed his passion and emotion, getting fired up multiple times about questionable calls and some chippy post-snap activity by Rams defenders.

Winston struggled with his accuracy in the first half, but much like he often did at Florida State, he came out of the locker room with a short memory and bounced back with a mostly stellar second half. Even after throwing a bad interception that ended a promising drive, Winston responded with another touchdown march on the following possession.

There wasn't much for Bucs fans to get excited about on Thursday night, but the fact they have a 21-year-old quarterback who can throw for 300 yards in a half, put up 17 points in the fourth quarter and set the tone with fiery leadership? That's something the Red and Pewter faithful can still be happy about moving forward.

Bucs Bottle Up Gurley, but Keenum and Austin Run Free

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Tampa Bay's prime objective on Thursday night was to stop Todd Gurley, and it did a fine job of it, holding the rookie top-10 pick to just 48 rushing yards on 21 carries.

The only problem? It forgot to keep quarterback Case Keenum and do-it-all playmaker Tavon Austin from picking up the slack.

Keenum threw just 17 passes Thursday night, but he completed 14 of them for 234 yards and a pair of touchdowns, with no interceptions. Austin scored on a 17-yard screen pass on the Rams' opening drive and then again on a 21-yard run in the third quarter to give St. Louis its largest lead of the game at 28-6.

Tampa Bay's run defense continues to be the team's strong suit, but its penchant for making backup quarterbacks look like Pro Bowlers proves just how much it lacks a consistent pass rush and top talent in the secondary. Thursday night's performance was a painful reminder of both, despite the team's success in stopping Gurley.

Head Coach Lovie Smith on Disappointment, Big Picture

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Even after laying another egg in front of a national audience, Bucs head coach Lovie Smith preached about keeping things in perspective during his postgame press conference.

Smith acknowledged his disappointment with Thursday night's performance but continued to stress his team is moving in the right direction, per Eric Horchy of PewterReport.com:

"

We lost two games [in a row]. It’s no more than that. If you look at the big picture; tonight, disappointment for this game, but overall we’re headed in the right direction. We have a couple spots where we’re a little shorthanded and we’re not playing as well as we need to. They can affect a lot of things. But big picture is what you have look toward. Disappointment tonight, but we’re still headed in the right direction.

"

The big picture still has plenty of bright spots for the young Bucs, but good luck getting the fanbase to be too excited at the moment, following back-to-back losses to teams with losing records.

Just two weeks ago, the Bucs were coming off a huge home win over the Atlanta Falcons and seemed to be building steam for a playoff run. Now, their playoff hopes are out the window, and they're in danger of dropping their final four games to close out the season.

LB Lavonte David: "We Knew What Was at Stake"

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Much like last week, the Bucs missed a golden opportunity to keep their playoff hopes alive by beating a team with an inferior record.

After a disappointing performance in all three phases of the game and a comeback bid that fell short, Bucs linebacker Lavonte David admitted his team blew its chance to keep hope alive.

"The bad thing is we knew what was at stake,'' David said, per Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. "We let this game get away from us."

The Rams outplayed and outcoached the Bucs for at least three quarters, as Tampa Bay fell behind 28-6 before mounting a rally in the fourth quarter that was simply too little, too late. After filling Tampa Bay fans with playoff dreams just two weeks ago, these back-to-back losses have likely now shifted the focus to the offseason.

QB Jameis Winston on Rookie of the Year Talk

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Through 14 games, Jameis Winston is putting together one of the most impressive rookie seasons of any quarterback in NFL history.

But despite his individual success, Winston isn't particularly interested in garnering NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honors.

"It would be awesome [to win the award], but that wasn’t on my goal list at the beginning of the year," Winston said, per Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune. "My goal was [for the Bucs] to have more wins than last year, and we’ve done that. My team is way more important than my individual success. I don’t focus on that type of stuff."

He may not want to focus on it, but Winston's numbers have been quite impressive—3,422 passing yards, 20 touchdown passes, five rushing touchdowns and 12 interceptions—and he'll be rightfully near the top of the discussion for this year's top rookie honors.

More importantly, he's helped the Bucs triple their win total from last season and has given them the franchise quarterback they've been missing for arguably their entire existence.

All stats courtesy of NFL.com