On Sunday, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers faced a New Orleans Saints team that knew it needed a win to keep their postseason hopes alive. Todd Bowles' club didn't match that intensity.
The Bucs got punched in the mouth early and didn't respond, falling 23-13.
Baker Mayfield and the offense went three-and-out on four of their first six possessions. The other two ended in turnovers. The Bucs' defense gave up 17 first-half points, allowing Derek Carr to carve them up over the middle of the field.
It took until midway through the fourth quarter, trailing 20-0, for Tampa to find any traction and make the score closer than the play on the field.
The loss wiped out a shot to win the division with a week to spare. Now they need a Week 18 victory over Carolina to secure a postseason berth.
"We have to," Bowles said when asked about moving on from the loss, per the official transcript. "It'll sink in today. Obviously, we know we have to win next week. We weren't trying to bring it to next week. Obviously, we wanted to win the one today. We didn't win the one today. We have to come back on Tuesday, and we have to be really focused. We've got to be ready, and we have to execute. [It] doesn't matter who we played today -- a good team, a bad team, a college team, a high school team -- we wouldn't have won the game."
Tampa entered the week knowing they needed one win in their final two games to take the NFC South title. They played like it on Sunday. If Bowles club performs like that in Week 18, a road victory -- even against a two-win Panthers club -- isn't assured.
"I think we prepared great all week," Mayfield said. "I think mentality-wise, preparation -- we were great. We just didn't come out and bring it to Sunday. Didn't translate. And so, can't have that. We've got to be able to show up when we need it. But luckily, we have one more game to seal this thing. Once again, back's against the wall. So, somewhere we've been before and we've got to get it fixed and move forward."
