Tampa Bay Buccaneers Take Big Step Back in Loss to Browns

After an impressive win on Monday Night Football last week, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers came crashing back to earth on Saturday night, thanks to a 31-7 drubbing at the hands of the Cleveland Browns.

Despite seemingly firing on all cylinders in their previous 25-11 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, the Bucs struggled in in all three phases of the game on Saturday night. They struggled to protect the passer all night, failed to generate a consistent pass rush or force any turnovers and gave up a special teams touchdown before the Browns offense even hit the field.

Tampa Bay managed just 177 yards of total offense, most of which came in the first half. Regardless of the quarterback, the Bucs failed to move the ball efficiently and consistently lost the battle at the line of scrimmage in both the run and pass game.

Jameis Winston couldn’t get comfortable against the onslaught of blitzing defenders, finishing the night just 6-for-15 passing for 90 yards, no touchdowns and an ill-advised interception that led to a Cleveland field goal.

On defense, the Bucs made veteran quarterback Josh McCown look better than he ever did in a Bucs uniform in 2014, as the journeyman completed 17 of his 23 passes for 117 yards and two touchdowns. McCown was given plenty of time to throw, which led to far too many easy yards in the passing game, while gaping holes up the middle allowed the Browns to gash the Bucs on the ground on multiple occasions.

On special teams, Tampa Bay’s problems didn’t stop at giving up a first-quarter punt return for a touchdown to open the scoring. Veteran Connor Barth was brought back to challenge second-year pro Patrick Murray for the kicking job—an interesting role reversal from last year’s preseason—but each kicker missed his only field-goal attempt of the night.

Despite the thorough beating, the Bucs did have at least one bright spot in each phase of the game.

Scott Audette/Associated Press

Doug Martin’s resurgence continued Saturday night, as the former Pro Bowler showed off the same explosion, vision and toughness he’s played with throughout training camp and the preseason. Martin carried the ball nine times for 40 yards, including a 19-yard touchdown that flashed his improved change-of-direction skills and ability to break tackles and explode into the secondary.

On defense, the legend of Kwon Alexander continues to grow. The rookie fourth-round pick has already snatched the starting middle linebacker job away from veteran free-agent acquisition Bruce Carter, and his play both in practice and preseason game action continues to justify the move.

Alexander is exactly the type of undersized but explosive player who is a perfect fit for the Tampa 2 defense, flashing incredible range and instincts against both the run and pass. The LSU product tallied five total tackles in Saturday night’s loss, punctuated by an obliteration of a sack on McCown that’s sure to make this week’s highlight reels.

Even on special teams, the Bucs were able to find a silver lining to an otherwise disappointing collective performance. The team has been bringing in challengers to push Michael Koenen for the punting duties on a yearly basis, but none have been up to the task of unseating the veteran. On Saturday night, Jacob Schum did his best to change that, averaging 45 yards on his four punts, with a long of 55.

Many Bucs fans overreacted in a negative way to the team’s preseason-opening loss on the road against the Minnesota Vikings, decrying Winston as a bust and seemingly preparing for yet another basement-dwelling season after just four preseason quarters.

The dominant home win over the Bengals seemed to swing the pendulum to the other extreme, with many fans crowning Winston an NFL star and lauding Tampa Bay’s improved offensive-line play, pass rush and ability to force turnovers on defense.

Scott Iskowitz/Getty Images

This loss will likely sway may back toward the land of pessimism, and with good reason. The Bucs have plenty of talent and potential on paper, but they are still very much a work in progress, especially at the game’s most important positions. They have rookie starters at quarterback, left tackle and middle linebacker, are still processing the transition to the Tampa 2 and dealing with first-time full-time starters in the trenches on both sides of the ball.

Bucs fans are starved for a contender, as their team hasn’t won a playoff game since hoisting the Lombardi Trophy at the end of the 2002 season. They have plenty of promising pieces in place on both sides of the ball, but Saturday night’s loss proved the team is still in the infant stages of developing into a playoff team.

*All stats courtesy of NFL.com

Luke Easterling is a featured columnist covering the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and NFL Draft for Bleacher Report. He is also a senior NFL draft analyst for Draft Breakdown. Follow him on Twitter, @LukeEasterling.