Carolina Panthers vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Tampa Bay Grades, Notes & Quotes

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers dropped yet another home game on Sunday, falling to the division-rival Carolina Panthers 37-23 at Raymond James Stadium.

The loss sends the Bucs to a 1-3 record on the year, while the Panthers remain undefeated at 4-0.

Despite out-gaining Carolina 411-244 in total offense, Tampa Bay committed five turnovers, including one on each of their first two possessions of the game. Rainy weather helped cause a fumbled snap on the first play from scrimmage for Tampa Bay, which was followed by a Jameis Winston pass that was intercepted and returned for a touchdown by Carolina's Josh Norman.

Tampa Bay would climb back into the game before halftime, heading to the locker room down 17-10 thanks to a five-yard touchdown run from Doug Martin. But a freak bounce of the ball on a fumble forced by the Bucs turned into a 57-yard touchdown for Panthers tight end Ed Dickson. Ted Ginn's second touchdown catch of the day stretched Carolina's lead to 31-10 in the third quarter.

A pair of late touchdown passes by Winston—one to Charles Sims, the other to Vincent Jackson—would make the score look respectable, but the Panthers had the game well in hand and it was too little, too late for the home team.

Winston finished 26-of-43 passing for 287 yards, two touchdowns and four interceptions. Despite the losing effort, Martin had his best game of the season, tallying 143 yards on 25 touches. Jackson led the Bucs with a season-high 10 catches for 147 yards.

Carolina's Cam Newton completed just 11 of his 22 passes for 124 yards, but he threw a pair of touchdowns and led the team with 51 yards on the ground, while not turning the ball over a single time. Norman ended up with two interceptions on the day, and his pick-six was his second of the season.

Position Grades for Bucs

Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports

Position	Grade
QB	D-
RB	A
WR	C+
TE	C-
OL	C-
DL	C-
LB	C-
DB	C-
Special Teams	D-
Coaching	C-

Most of Tampa Bay's position units were close to an adequate performance, but it just wasn't quite enough, hence the reason for all the "C-minus" grades listed above.

Tampa Bay's offensive line opened up holes in the running game, but though they gave up just two sacks, Jameis Winston was constantly pressured. Tampa Bay's front seven played a solid game for much of the afternoon but missed out on too many opportunities for big plays.

Winston's five turnovers make his grade the easiest to assign, though he keeps it from an "F" thanks to some quality throws in the second half and his ability to keep fighting through mistakes.

On the other side of the coin, Doug Martin turned in his best performance of the season, rushing for 106 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries and adding 37 yards on five receptions. Martin continues to prove he's back to his rookie-season form, when he was named to the Pro Bowl after racking up nearly 2,000 total yards.

Even though the Bucs had a rough day through the air, Vincent Jackson hauled in 10 passes for 147 yards, leading the team in both categories.

In the secondary, Tampa Bay didn't give up the big play down the field, but mental lapses at key moments—such as both of Ted Ginn's touchdown catches—keep them from earning a passing grade.

After missing four of his five kicks last week, Kyle Brindza missed two more on Sunday, making it doubtful he'll remain with the team moving forward. Bobby Rainey's performance in the return game keeps the special teams unit from earning a failing grade.

Like the other units that earned just shy of a passing grade, the coaching staff showed some improvement, but it simply wasn't enough. The Bucs had half the penalties they committed last week, which is a step in the right direction.

Winston's Five Turnovers Bury Both Sides of the Ball

Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports

Jameis Winston had bounced back from a rough Week 1 in which he threw a pick-six on his first career pass attempt, taking much better care of the ball in Tampa Bay's next two games.

But between the bad weather and some poor decision-making, Winston's turnover troubles reared its ugly head yet again, as the top overall draft pick was responsible for all five of Tampa Bay's giveaways on Sunday, including four interceptions.

Winston's first pass attempt of the day was ill-advised and returned for a score by Carolina's Josh Norman, who would pick off the rookie again later in the game on a poor throw behind his receiver. The Bucs nearly doubled up the Panthers in offensive yardage, but the giveaways more than leveled the playing field and were the primary reason the Bucs lost yet another home game.

Kicking Woes Continue

Brian Blanco/Associated Press

After missing four of his six kicks last week, Kyle Brindza's struggles continued on Sunday against the Panthers, as the Notre Dame product missed a pair of field goals and an extra point.

The nasty weather certainly didn't help, but considering Brindza's troubles last week came in a clean environment in Houston, he's unlikely to get the benefit of the doubt when it comes to this week's performance. Over the last two games, Brindza's missed kicks have cost the Bucs a potential 17 points.

After last week's game, Bucs head coach Lovie Smith made it clear he was sticking by his kicker. It remains to be seen if he's still willing to be so committed after another dismal outing.

Despite Loss, Martin Shines Again

Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports

In what seems to be a developing trend, Doug Martin was again the bright spot for the Bucs in an otherwise disappointing effort on Sunday.

The former first-round pick and 2012 Pro Bowler went over 100 yards rushing for the first time this season, carrying the ball 20 times for 106 and a touchdown. Martin also finished second on the team with five catches for 37 yards.

Despite playing behind a work-in-progress offensive line, Martin continues to generate positive runs while consistently getting yards after contact. After struggling with multiple injuries over the past two seasons, Martin looks to have regained his rookie-year form, which should be at least one thing Bucs fans can count on as the season moves forward.

QB Jameis Winston on Turnovers

Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports

Despite besting the Panthers in nearly every statistical category on offense, the Bucs were done in by five turnovers, all of which involved rookie quarterback Jameis Winston.

This year's top overall draft pick knows it's nearly impossible to win when a team gives away the ball that many times, according to Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com:

"

You can't have five turnovers and win the game. You just can't do that. We had so many opportunities. The defense is playing well, but you can't win a game with five turnovers. No matter how good someone plays, if your quarterback turns the ball over five times you can't win. You've got to learn from it and put it behind you.

"

Poor weather definitely contributed to both teams' ball security, but Winston's poor decision-making was easily as deserving of the blame for Tampa Bay's giveaways. After taking care of the ball fairly well over the past two weeks, Winston took a big step back with Sunday's performance.

Head Coach Lovie Smith on Winston's Mistakes

Chris O'Meara/Associated Press

Any rookie quarterback is expected to take his lumps as a first-time starter, and Sunday's five-turnover performance from Jameis Winston was certainly a tough pill for the Bucs to swallow.

But head coach Lovie Smith made it clear after the game that there's plenty of blame to go around, per Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com:

"

I think he's making some rookie mistakes. We'd like for him to be a vet. We've seen signs that he can be a great player, but we're not there yet. There will be growing pains. He's a rookie that just played his fourth NFL game. When things like that happen, others, us, need to be able to help him out a lot more. We're talking about one guy. There's more than one guy on the field. There were guys who had opportunities to make plays today, and didn't make them. Simple as that. Coaching staff, players…we're all going to share the blame for this bad loss.

"

There are issues across the board for Tampa Bay, but even for a rookie quarterback playing in the rain, five turnovers is a bit much for a No. 1 overall pick. The Bucs still need a ton of improvements, and it starts with Winston making better decisions with the ball.

S Chris Conte on Crazy Fumble Touchown

Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated Press

Coming out of halftime, the Bucs trailed the Panthers by just seven points and appeared to have forced a key turnover when safety Chris Conte separated Carolina's Jonathan Stewart from the ball with a big hit.

But the ball dropped right into the hands of Panthers tight end Ed Dickson, who raced 57 yards for a touchdown, stretching Carolina's lead to two touchdowns and killing any momentum the Bucs had built up to that point.

Conte was just as confused as anyone, per Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com:

"

I was just trying to make a tackle. The ball pops up – I didn't even see the ball pop up – and the next thing you know I look back and they're running with the ball. I don't even know how that happened, but it was just indicative of the way things went today for us.

"

The Bucs didn't get many lucky bounces on Sunday, but they made enough mistakes on their own to earn them their third loss in four tries this season.