There’s no way to sugarcoat it: the Tampa Bay Buccaneers needed that win against the Falcons in the worst way. Instead, the 31-26 loss not only drops them to 4-4, but means a series sweep for Atlanta and, if tiebreakers come into play in the future, an advantage over the Bucs.

There is a lot of room for improvement on this team, especially on defense, where they have struggled to contain the middle of the field and second-quarter collapses have plagued them over the past three weeks. Meanwhile, quarterback Baker Mayfield needs to avoid costly mistakes that have seen him throw seven interceptions in four weeks.

However, there are also some positives to take away. The offensive line is playing great football, offensive coordinator Liam Coen continues to call stellar games and the running game is thriving. With two of the NFL’s best teams on the schedule heading into their bye week in Week 11, the Bucs need to figure out how they can correct their defensive deficiencies and play a cleaner game on offense or else they could end up with two games less. .500 heading into halftime. Here are my top takeaways from the Bucs’ 31-26 loss to the Falcons in Week 8.

Wow! The Buccaneers have regressed terribly on defense since the start of the season. After allowing 78 points through the first four weeks, the Bucs have allowed 135 points in their last four games. They have had tremendous difficulty stopping anything in the middle of the field and coverage breakdowns have allowed 18 explosive plays through the air since Week 5. The run defense has been equally bad, allowing an average of 131 yards per game in the last four, including 10 explosive plays.

While they have managed to get sacks (13 in the last four games), they have had trouble applying consistent pressure without blitzes, allowing the quarterbacks to work on their progressions and pick apart the Bucs’ defense. KJ Britt has been a liability in coverage, Lavonte David is not the same player in coverage and Jordan Whitehead has had streaks as a defender. Losing Tykee Smith has hurt the team more than anyone could have anticipated and you can see the noticeable difference he makes on the field. While it is valid to say that Todd Bowles needs to coach better, more responsibility must be placed on the players to perform better.

One of the biggest talking points heading into the Bucs’ game against the Falcons was how offensive coordinator Liam Coen would handle the losses of wide receivers Chris Godwin and Mike Evans. With Godwin lost for the season and Evans out for at least the next four weeks, there was pressure to keep the Bucs’ offense going without their two best playmakers. Coen answered the call on Sunday, getting 24 points from his offense without his Pro Bowl receivers.

Led by Cade Otton’s nine catches for 81 yards and two touchdowns, the Bucs got contributions from Rakim Jarrett, Bucky Irving, Jalen McMillan, Trey Palmer and Rachaad White, who had her own receiving touchdown, to move the ball effectively. through the field. . The Bucs could have walked away with even more points and the win, but two Baker Mayfield interceptions inside the 30 on promising scoring drives stopped the momentum. Still, Coen found a way to get his team to make the right plays to score a late touchdown, score them just five points, and then put them in position to make a last-ditch effort to win the game as time expired. The arrow points to Coen, who looked excellent in his first year as the Bucs’ offensive coordinator.

The Buccaneers beating the Bucs is nothing new, but fingerprints were left all over their loss to the Falcons. From ill-timed penalties to a lack of focus, the Buccaneers can’t expect to win games if they keep getting in their own way. The lack of communication in the secondary led to big passing gains by the Falcons, including three of their four touchdowns. Mayfield had two costly interceptions that effectively took points off the board. An early Rachaad White fumble led to quick points for the Falcons.

But it wasn’t just the players. There was an extremely questionable decision to attempt a false punt deep in their own territory that was unsuccessful. The Bucs decided to kick a field goal instead of going for it on 4th and 3 and it backfired. Not to mention poor clock management late in the game, with head coach Todd Bowles opting to save his timeouts for after the two-minute warning, giving the Bucs offense less time to come back. With the Chiefs and 49ers in sight, the Bucs can’t shoot themselves in the foot if they hope to steal one of these two games as underdogs.

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