3 Takeaways from Buccaneers' Week 12 Loss vs. Browns
Heading into their Week 11 bye, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had finally reestablished some positive momentum. After getting off to a 3-5 start, they got back to .500 with back-to-back wins over the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks in Weeks 9 and 10.
Upon their return to action, the Bucs couldn't keep it going. Instead, they lost in disappointing fashion.
Tampa Bay fell 23-17 in overtime to the Cleveland Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium on Sunday afternoon, dropping to 5-6. Nick Chubb lifted the Browns to victory by scoring a game-winning 3-yard touchdown run with 19 seconds to go in OT.
Here are three takeaways from the Buccaneers' Week 12 loss.
The Offense Has Too Many Talented Players to Go Cold for That Long
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A Tom Brady-led offense that features playmakers such as Chris Godwin, Mike Evans and others should be set up for success. That's why the Bucs had been one of the NFL's top teams since Brady's arrival prior to the 2020 season.
This year, the unit isn't faring nearly well. And on Sunday, Tampa Bay went cold for an extended period of time, including at the most crucial moments.
Brady threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Ko Kieft that gave the Buccaneers a 17-10 lead with 7 minutes and 41 seconds to go in the third quarter. Those were the last points that Tampa Bay scored, as its final seven possessions resulted in six punts and the clock running out at the end of regulation.
“Seventeen points is not going to do it, and that is basically what we have been doing all year,” Brady said, per Tom Withers of the Associated Press. “It’s been the same thing all year. We’re not scoring enough points."
If the Bucs hope to turn around their fortune, it's clear they need to score more. So they'll have to figure out ways they can make that possible.
The Defense Played Well Enough to Win for Much of the Day
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The Browns scored 10 points in the game's first 12:38. After that, they didn't score again until Jacoby Brissett's game-tying 12-yard touchdown pass to David Njoku that forced overtime with 32 seconds to go in the fourth.
In between, the Bucs' defense made some big plays and came up with plenty of stops. Mike Edwards had an interception, and Cleveland's Corey Bojorquez punted six times.
Even if the defense couldn't stop the Browns every time they had the ball, they fared well enough and put the ball in the offense's hands enough that they could have won this game, even before it went to OT.
So Tampa Bay's defense shouldn't get all of the blame for the loss, despite Cleveland's pair of late touchdowns. If the Buccaneers' offense had fared better, their defensive performance would have been held in much higher regard.
The Rest of the NFC South Is Keeping the Bucs in Front
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With all the struggles the Buccaneers have had, it's a bit surprising that they're still in first place in the NFC South. They're 5-6 and a half-game ahead of the Atlanta Falcons, who fell to 5-7 with a loss to the Washington Commanders on Sunday.
The Carolina Panthers improved to 4-8 with a win over the Denver Broncos, while the New Orleans Saints fell to 4-8 with a shutout loss to the San Francisco 49ers. Both teams remain within striking distance of Tampa Bay in the division race.
The Bucs are 2-1 in NFC South play, and they still have three divisional games to play, beginning with a Week 13 home matchup against the Saints. Tampa Bay will close the regular season with back-to-back matchups against Carolina and Atlanta in Weeks 17 and 18.
If the Buccaneers can win their remaining contests against their division rivals, they may not need many other victories to get into the playoffs. And once the postseason arrives, anything can happen, as plenty of teams have proven with surprise runs in the past.
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