Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. Is anyone else feeling completely disoriented by the most recent iPhone software update?
In today’s SI:AM:
🏴☠️ Bucs drop another
👴 Cousins auditions for 2026
⚾ Winter meetings wrap-up
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The Bucs’ sinking ship
Remember, way back in mid-October, when the Buccaneers were 5–1 and looked like one of the best teams in the NFC? So much for that.
After Thursday night’s collapse at home against the Falcons, the Bucs have surrendered first place in the NFC South for the first time all season. If the playoffs began today, Tampa Bay would be left sitting at home.
The Bucs certainly didn’t look like a playoff team last night. After capitalizing on a Falcons turnover and extending their lead to 28–14 with 13:34 left in the fourth quarter, the Bucs quickly collapsed. Atlanta made it 28–20 on a Bijan Robinson touchdown run and then got the ball right back when Dee Alford picked off Baker Mayfield. The Falcons scored another touchdown (and missed another two-point conversion) after the turnover to narrow the gap to 28–26. A defensive stop gave them one final possession to try to win it, and that’s when things got wacky.
On the second play of the drive, Bucs edge rusher Haason Reddick sacked Kirk Cousins and jarred the ball loose. In the chaos of the pileup, the officials ruled that both teams recovered the fumble simultaneously, which, by rule, grants possession to the offense. After a holding penalty and an incomplete pass, the Falcons were facing a third-and-28. A 14-yard gain by Kyle Pitts at least made the fourth down more manageable, and David Sills V was able to find a hole in the zone to convert it. A five-yard penalty on the Bucs and a quick pass from Cousins to Darnell Mooney put the Falcons in range for Zane Gonzalez to kick a 43-yard field goal as time expired to win it.
After the game, the normally mild-mannered Todd Bowles dropped a whole bunch of expletives in response to his team’s performance.
“You don’t make excuses,” the Bucs coach said. “You got to f---ing care enough where the s--- hurts. It’s got to f---ing mean something to you. It’s more than a job. It’s your f---ing livelihood. How well do you know your job? How well can you do your job? You can’t sugarcoat that s---.”
Bowles also placed the blame for the loss solely on his players.
“At this point, you’ve seen everything in the season,” Bowles said. “The coaches have done everything they can do. This is a player-driven team in the last four or five weeks. You’ve got to execute, and they’ve got to hold each other accountable. As a coach, you can sit there until you’re blue in the face. Until they start holding each other accountable and doing the little things right -- and that’s not everybody, you know, we’re talking about a small, select few. But the small, select few is what’s getting us beat. And until that happens, it’s not going to get right.”
The Bucs have now lost five of their six games since their bye week and are 7–7 on the season. One reason for the collapse is a rash of injuries on offense. Thursday night was receiver Mike Evans’s first real action since Week 3. Fellow wideout Chris Godwin has only played six games this season. Another receiver, second-year pro Jalen McMillan, made his first appearance of the season on Thursday after injuring his neck in the preseason. Several offensive linemen have been hurt at various points this year, including star tackle Tristan Wirfs.
Missing Evans, Godwin and McMillan certainly doesn’t make Mayfield’s job any easier, but it’s not as if the Bucs don’t have anyone for him to throw the ball to. Rookie first-round pick Emeka Egbuka had an outstanding start to the season (his 870 receiving yards rank ninth in the NFL and first among all rookies) and veteran Sterling Shepard is a reliable target. The Bucs also have a solid tight end in Cade Otton. Those guys might not be the foundation of a Super Bowl team, but they should be good enough for the Bucs to avoid dropping five out of six.
Tampa Bay’s loss on Thursday vaulted the Panthers into first place in the division and set up a compelling race over the next four weeks. Carolina is 7–6 entering Sunday’s game in New Orleans. After that, the Panthers and Bucs will meet twice over the final three weeks of the season. (Carolina plays the Seahawks in the other game, and Tampa Bay plays the Dolphins.)
If there’s any reason for hope for the Bucs, it’s that they can still control their own destiny. If Tampa Bay wins its last three games, the Bucs would win the division outright. But have the Bucs shown anything over the past six weeks to indicate that they’re capable of going on a three-game win streak?
The best of Sports Illustrated
- Gilberto Manzano says Tampa Bay’s upset loss to the Atlanta Falcons exposed a significant flaw: its leaky defense. Now that the high-powered offense is healthy, it will have to bail out the defense if the Bucs want to make the playoffs.
- Quarterback Kirk Cousins’ tenure with the Falcons has not gone his way. However, after leading the team to an upset over Tampa Bay, the veteran improved his standing in free agency, writes Matt Verderame.
- The Bills-Patriots AFC East battle leads an interesting Week 15 schedule. Our staff gives their key matchups, storylines and predictions for the slate of games.
- Pat Forde shares his vibe check on every college football bowl matchup and the first round of the College Football Playoff.
- The Braves signed reliever Robert Suarez and outfielder Mike Yastrzemski in the span of 24 hours. Will Laws argues that the Braves’ surprising moves offer the franchise flexibility for future transactions.
- Laws and Nick Selbe outline the winners and losers of this year’s MLB Winter Meetings.
- It has been an exciting first month of the women’s college basketball season. Our staff discusses the biggest surprises so far, their bold predictions for the rest of the year and what they learned from Iowa State’s win against Iowa on Wednesday.
- Need a new driver? Some new drip? Paul Liberatore presents his ultimate holiday golf guide.
The top five…
… things I saw last night:
5. Nic Batum’s mental mistake that erased any hope of a Clippers comeback against the Rockets.
4. Some typically slick footwork in the post by Nikola Jokić.
3. Four goals for the Predators’ Steven Stamkos.
2. Connor McDavid’s no-look, between-the-legs assist to Zach Hyman. (Hyman had two more goals for his sixth career hat trick.)
1. Maple Leafs goalie Dennis Hildeby’s ridiculous behind-the-back save.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as SI:AM | Bucs’ Freefall Has NFC South Up for Grabs.