Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Historic Week 7 Meltdown a Gut Punch to Positive Momentum

Heading into their Week 7 road matchup against the Washington Redskins, the stars were aligned for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to turn the corner and show some progress in their second year under head coach Lovie Smith.

With Smith under plenty of scrutiny, the Bucs got a big home win in Week 5, beating the equally inept Jacksonville Jaguars in a 38-31 shootout for their first victory at Raymond James Stadium since their new head coach took the reins last season.

At 2-3, the Bucs took plenty of positive momentum and a sense of relief into their Week 6 bye. They would have an extra week of preparation before facing Washington, whom they had dominated 27-7 on the road for one of their two victories last season.

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Halfway through the second quarter on Sunday, Smith’s Pewter Pirates were flying high. Three scoring drives on offense combined with an impressive scoop-and-score from the defense on a sack-fumble had the Bucs up 24-0 and looking like a team that would coast to a .500 record.

Ah, the sound of the notoriously conservative Smith retreating, sending the Bucs into their protective shell.

Instead of keeping their foot on the throttle, the Bucs went into safe mode on both sides of the ball. They allowed a touchdown run by Kirk Cousins late in the first half, cutting their lead to 24-7 as they went into the locker room for halftime. Two more touchdown drives from Washington in the third quarter brought the home team within a field goal.

One of the Bucs’ most painful signs of falling asleep on the job came on a surprise onside kick that was sandwiched between those two scores. Tampa Bay’s special teams unit was caught completely off guard, and just like that, it was a one-score game.

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The teams would trade field goals early in the fourth quarter, setting up drama when the Bucs should have been salting away a comfortable victory.

But the Bucs’ young and promising offense appeared to bail the defense out with a long scoring drive late in the fourth quarter, led by a big run from Doug Martin and multiple third-down conversions from Jameis Winston to Mike Evans. But as they knocked on the door inside the 10-yard line, the Bucs went timid yet again, running the ball three times and settling for a field goal.

At this point, Bucs fans knew exactly what to expect. Cousins carved up the Tampa Bay secondary on the game’s final drive, hitting Jordan Reed for a way-too-easy six-yard touchdown catch with 24 seconds left to complete Washington’s largest comeback victory in the franchise’s 84-year history.

Heading into Sunday's game, Cousins had thrown multiple interceptions in four of his six starts this season, leaving Bucs fans hopeful their team would feast on a struggling quarterback. Instead, Cousins dissected Tampa Bay's back seven with surgical precision, completing 33 of his 40 passes for 317 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.

Cousins was understandably pumped following his performance:

After holding off the “Fire Lovie” crowd with the win over the Jaguars, Sunday’s insanely deflating loss has brought the torches and pitchforks right back to One Buc Place.

Smith’s questionable coaching decisions left their fingerprints all over this meltdown. From poor clock management in key situations to the lethal “prevent” approach on defense, Smith deserves the lion’s share of the blame for a heartbreaking loss that sends him to a 4-18 record as Tampa Bay’s head coach.

Oh, and remember that beeping sound from earlier? That also applies to how many times the Bucs were forced backward by penalties, as they committed a gasket-blowing 16 infractions for 146 yards. A heavily penalized team is one with too little discipline, which is a direct reflection on Smith and his coaching staff.

Tampa Bay’s concerns this season were supposed to revolve around a rookie starting quarterback and a piecemeal offensive line. On Sunday, it was instead Smith’s defense that wasted a masterful performance by Winston and the Tampa Bay offense.

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Winston had his best game yet as a pro, completing 21 of his 29 passes for 297 yards and a pair of touchdowns while not committing a single turnover. Doug Martin continued his dominant resurgence, racking up 171 total yards on 22 touches. Mike Evans dominated Washington for the second straight year, hauling in eight passes for 164 yards and a score.

The Bucs gave up just one sack, and Winston completed passes to nine different teammates despite playing most of the second half with Mike Evans and rookie undrafted free agent Donteea Dye as the only healthy, active wide receivers available.

But none of that mattered.

Just like all of the positive momentum and morale the Bucs had built up heading into Sunday’s game, Tampa Bay’s dominant offensive performance was vaporized by its eggshell approach in the second half.

Bucs fans know better than to have expected any less, but that won’t dull the pain of yet another monumental collapse. Even for a team with as many embarrassing losses to its name as the Bucs, this one will stand as one of the heavier feathers in their water-logged tricorne.

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 @Luke Easterling.

*All stats courtesy of NFL.com.