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LANDOVER, Md. — Moments after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers fell to the Washington Football Team 29-19 on the road Sunday, coach Bruce Arians said his team — now 6-3 after two straight losses — has some “soul-searching to do,” and he chided it for penalties and mental errors that continue to be costly.
“It’s very disappointing,” Arians said. “It’s very alarming to watch the energy at every practice and show up with a lack of execution and energy that it takes to win on Sunday. We’ve got a lot of soul-searching to do.”
Against the league’s worst pass defense — a team the Bucs were favored to beat by 10 points and that would lose its star defensive player Chase Young midway through the second quarter — quarterback Tom Brady completed only three passes of more than 20 yards and was intercepted twice.
The Bucs surrendered 256 passing yards and a touchdown to Washington quarterback Taylor Heinicke, with Antonio Gibson rushing for two more against the league’s top-rated run defense. The defense allowed Washington to orchestrate a 19-play touchdown drive that ended all hope of a comeback.
Self-inflicted wounds — particularly penalties — have been the Buccaneers’ Achilles’ heel all year. After an 11-penalty loss at the New Orleans Saints two weeks ago, Arians called on the team’s leaders to hold each other accountable, but that hasn’t stopped the errors. The Bucs also had a three drops, making it 15 for the year, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.
“Energy and passion are very fixable,” Arians said. “The penalties — they’ve gotta get corrected sooner or later. The first play of the game — they’re shifting and we jump offsides. They don’t even run a play and we jump offsides. The stupidity has to go away if we’re gonna go anywhere.”
Tight end O.J. Howard jumped offside on the very first snap when Washington shifted. A neutral-zone infraction on defensive end William Gholston advanced Washington 5 yards forward just before halftime. A false start on…
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Source : espn
