The Tampa Bay Buccaneers took a 16-3 lead over the Pittsburgh Steelers into the fourth quarter Sunday at Raymond James Stadium. Pittsburgh scored on five straight possessions and won 26-19 in overtime, and it went down as another close game that got away.
Jalon Daniels went 22 of 43 for 164 yards, a touchdown pass to Emeka Egbuka and two interceptions. Jamel Dean returned the second one 40 yards to set up Chris Boswell’s go-ahead field goal with 1:21 left. Chase McLaughlin forced overtime with a 53-yarder, but Aaron Rodgers found Germie Bernard for a 6-yard touchdown on the first possession, and Jalen Ramsey’s sack on fourth-and-8 ended it.
The Bucs fell to 1-5, and three of the four outlets we track moved them down a spot or two. CBS Sports kept them at No. 29, and they now sit at No. 28 or No. 29 everywhere.
Fox Sports
This week’s ranking: 29
Last week’s ranking: 28
Ralph Vacchiano moved Tampa Bay down one spot and looked at the three games without Baker Mayfield. A three-point loss to Green Bay, a win in Dallas and an overtime loss to Pittsburgh isn’t nothing, he wrote, but it isn’t much in a season he sees as all but over.
He credited head coach Todd Bowles’ defense for keeping the Bucs competitive and said the offense needs a new direction. Vacchiano thinks Washington’s Dan Quinn has passed Bowles as the coach most likely to be fired first, but the Week 10 bye still looms. He also noted that Tampa Bay’s last 12 games have all been decided by eight points or fewer, the longest such streak in franchise history.
Pro Football Talk
This week’s ranking: 29
Last week’s ranking: 27
Mike Florio dropped the Bucs two spots and wondered about the quarterback decision. “If they’d known what Jalon Daniels can do, would they have extended Baker Mayfield?” he asked.
That question could get an answer soon. Bowles said Mayfield will practice Wednesday and be evaluated, though the Bucs are planning as if Daniels starts at Carolina.
ESPN
This week’s ranking: 28
Last week’s ranking: 27
ESPN’s panel moved Tampa Bay down one spot. Asked for the offense’s biggest issue, Jenna Laine answered almost everything. The Bucs have turned it over at least twice in four of six games, both quarterbacks have been under duress, and Egbuka and Chris Godwin Jr. rank 58th and 71st in receiving yards, per ESPN.
Bucky Irving averages 4.7 yards per carry this season, but the Steelers held him to 46 yards on 19 carries. Godwin has already landed on a list of Buccaneers who could be traded before the Nov. 10 deadline.
CBS Sports
This week’s ranking: 29
Last week’s ranking: 29
Pete Prisco left the Bucs at No. 29 but thinks they’re in big trouble after the loss to Pittsburgh, and that the seat under Bowles is getting really hot.
One prediction already has Bowles gone before the Week 10 bye, and the next three games are all in the division. Tampa Bay visits the first-place Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.
More on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Buccaneers Snap Counts Show Bucky Irving Taking Kenneth Gainwell’s Passing-Down Snaps
- Buccaneers Week 6 Stock Report: David Walker Doubles Sack Total, but Jalon Daniels’ Picks Sting
- How Did the Bucs Blow a 16-3 Lead? Answering 5 Questions Buccaneers Fans Are Asking
- Mike Evans Explains Reason for Leaving Buccaneers, and Tampa Bay Fans Won’t Want to Hear It
