Good teams should not lose to 2-win opponents, ever, much less on their home field.

But when I was down in Tampa this weekend, that’s what I saw through the pouring rain: the Bucs made yet another rookie or backup quarterback look like a superstar, while once again struggling with the same stuff we’ve been seeing all year.

I should’ve known what kind of game this was going to be right away, and I’m not talking about the weather.  The Saints ran the opening kickoff into Tampa Bay territory.  A few minutes later, it was 7-0 New Orleans.  The Bucs, 13 games into the season, still cannot cover a kickoff.  They still cannot tackle.  And they still cannot cover receivers, especially in the middle of the field.  And while the Buccaneers did answer with a touchdown of their own, the tone was set for an upset.

They let rookie quarterback Tyler Shough run for 2 touchdowns.  On the first one, he wasn’t even touched.  On the second, three Bucs had a chance to sack him, but all of them whiffed (see above re: tackling.)  Once Shough got away, he had a clear path to the end zone.

Todd Bowles is still an idiot.  So is Josh Grizzard.  Neither one of them makes good decisions.  Coaching matters.  Just look at the Patriots.

I’m not giving Baker Mayfield a pass, either.  He hasn’t been the same since getting beat up in that Monday night game in Detroit.  He completed less than half of his passes.  He threw an interception that the Saints turned into a touchdown.  It doesn’t help that his pass protection is abysmal, too, yet they’re still running the ball effectively.

Still, without Baker, this is a 3-win team.  Can anyone except Baker, Godwin and Bucky make a play?  Emeka Egbuka was a stud early in the season, but he’s dropped off considerably.  He dropped a wide-open touchdown in the 4^th quarter that would’ve tied the game.  Can anyone on defense make a play?  They used to be great against the run, but not anymore.

The Bucs are now tied with Carolina.  They still have to play the Panthers twice.  But first, they have to face the Falcons on Thursday night.  I honestly don’t know what to expect in that one.