The Bucs D-Line started off the afternoon slow, not putting pressure on Robert Griffin III until halfway through the third quarter when DE George Johnson, who didn’t start at right defensive end, drilled Griffin with the help of Mason Foster.

Michael Bennett chased down Griffin and grabbed his foot halfway through the fourth quarter, allowing Quincy Black to bring Griffin to the ground. Bennett was awarded the sack, his fourth of the season.

The Bucs were without last year’s sack leader Adrian Clayborn Sunday, and in his place was Daniel Te’o-Nesheim.

Te’o-Nesheim recorded four tackles in his first start, doubling Clayborn’s production in the first three contests. Between Te’o-Nesheim and Johnson, the Bucs should continue to be effective on the defensive line.

Getting to Griffin was not an easy task, as the rookie QB is extremely athletic and used his legs to get outside of the pocket and extend plays.

Grade C: It was a daunting task, but blaming the loss on Clayborn’s injury is unjustifiable. The Bucs front four struggled against the Redskins in the first half and had they played with the same intensity to start the game, this grade would have been much higher – as would their production.

Key 2. Let Josh Free

The opening drive resulted in a Michael Koenen punt, but not before the Bucs opened up the playbook with passing on three of the first four snaps. The drive stalled, but Vincent Jackson and Arrelious Benn matched their reception totals from last week in the first few minutes with one a piece.

Mike Williams, who had two receptions in Dallas ended the first quarter with two receptions against Washington while Jackson and Benn also end the first 15 minutes with two catches each.

In the second quarter, the passing game stalled as Freeman went 5-for-13, while Jackson was the only wide receiver who added a catch to his opening quarter total.

Four minutes in, Freeman threw an interception, and was sacked on the next possession.

The offense heated up as execution was much better in the second half.

In the third period Freeman went 4-for-8 for 99 yards and a touchdown to Jackson after a back corner end zone fade did not get to Williams.

Freeman had two second-half passes a 65-yarder to Williams that tied his career long, and a 54-yard pass to Jackson to set up a LeGarrette Blount two-yard TD run.

The two passes were the two longest of the year so far and brought both Williams and Jackson to at least 100 yards receiving; the first time the Bucs have had two receivers with 100 or more yards in the same game since 1992.

Freeman ended the game 24-of-39 for 299 yards, with one touchdown, one interception, and one sack.

Grade A: Did they open the playbook? Yes, they did. Was the execution there the entire game? No, it wasn’t. But that’s not to say Mike Sullivan didn’t call the plays at least; the Bucs attempted to run the ball 18 times, while Freeman dropped back 39 times. 

Going along with Key 2 – the passing offense certainly opened up in the first quarter and in the second half.

The passing game was moving smoothly through the first quarter, almost without a hitch until the second quarter, when Benn and Williams both dropped passes on the same drive resulting in Tampa Bay having to punt it away.

Jackson let DeAngelo Hall underneath, who intercepted Freeman in the second possession of the second quarter. With just over half to go in the second, the Bucs continued to pass the ball, but Freeman couldn’t connect with his receivers.

Jackson’s seven targets with three catches at half time aren’t exactly numbers you want from the premier free agent wide receiver but as previously stated, all the wide receivers got it together in the second half.

Jackson ended with six catches for 100 yards and a score on 11 targets, Williams had 115 yards on four receptions out of eight targets, Tiquan Underwood caught all three of his passes for 39 yards, Benn and Dallas Clark both went 3-for-4; Benn with 18 yards and Clark with 15. Jackson and Freeman still need to work out the kinks, but the biggest receiving problem was rookie RB Doug Martin who was targeted the ball five times and only caught two for nine yards.

Grade B: It would have been an A if not for Jackson and Martin. Combined, the two caught 50 percent of the passes thrown their way. Not terrific for the No. 1 WR and RB.

Key 4. Benn Needs To Get Role-ing

The opening kickoff sailed out the back of the end zone, but Arrelious Benn did not have to wait long to get involved. Benn had two catches for nine yards and an end around that netted the Bucs five yards in the first.

Benn was only targeted two more times throughout the game, catching one pass for nine yards in the first possession of the third quarter.

In the return game, Washington had five kickoffs, four of them touchbacks. The lone return was taken by Jackson in a last minute Bucs version of the Music City Miracle, which didn’t end so miraculous as the Bucs still lost.

Grade B-: Benn was targeted a lot more than he was last week, and as previously stated, Benn isn’t taking a return out of the end zone. For what he was asked to do, he executed, but the offense could still benefit from having Benn be a bigger role.

Not only did the three phases not come together in the first half, none of them seemed to be able to get themselves together. Aside from the kicking game, which has no flaws so far with Connor Barth as he is now at 25 consecutive field goals, adding to his team record with every kick.

In the second half, things changed and for a brief period, all three phases played well. Roscoe Parrish returned four punts for 36 yards, an average of nine, which would put him in the top 20 of NFL punt returners. Parrish has a few weeks off before signing with Tampa Bay and should be able to get into a good rhythm after the bye week.  

Grade C: The first half grade is an F and the second an A, so meeting in the middle would be a C. This team has potential, but right now they are terrible inconsistent.