Tampa Bay suffered a brutal, 31-24 loss at New Orleans that all but ended their playoff hopes. Bucs quarterback Jameis Winston threw two touchdowns and two interceptions, while the Bucs defense failed to stop Mark Ingram from rushing for 90 yards and two touchdowns. The Bucs benched running back Doug Martin and lost tight end Cameron Brate due to an injury, but losing a second straight big game with playoff implications was the real story.

It’s time for PewterReport.com’s 2-Point Conversion post-game column, which features two statements, two questions and two predictions based on the latest Bucs game.

TWO BIG STATEMENTS
STATEMENT 1: LOSING BRATE WAS A KILLER
Bucs tight end Cameron Brate started off the day on a good note, catching a 12-yard touchdown pass, which gave him eight for this season. That scoring reception gave him eight for the year, which is the most in the NFL for a tight end this season. Brate’s eighth touchdown also ties him with Jimmie Giles for the most by a tight end in a single season in Tampa Bay history.

More importantly, Brate’s touchdown tied the game at 7-7 in the second quarter in New Orleans. With Tampa Bay trailing 28-14 with 6:20 left in the third quarter, Brate caught a short pass from Winston and gained nine yards before he was tackled by Saints cornerback B.W. Webb, who hit the third-year tight end in the lower back. That hit knocked Brate out of the game.

Brate, who has been the Bucs’ second-leading receiver this year with 56 catches for 648 yards coming into Sunday’s game, was sorely missed down the stretch. The Bucs had Brandon Myers, who had five catches for 38 yards and a touchdown this season, replace Brate in the lineup and wasn’t nearly as effective. A case in point was Brate likely would have caught the touchdown pass that Myers couldn’t haul in on back-to-back throws from the Saints’ 17-yard line with just over two minutes remaining. The Bucs had to settle for a 35-yard Roberto Aguayo field goal.

On Tampa Bay’s previous offensive series, Winston likely would have directed a throw to Brate instead of Russell Shepard, who was well covered at the New Orleans 17-yard. As a result, Saints safety Jarius Byrd picked off Winston for a second time on Sunday. Tampa Bay’s offense lacks enough playmakers as it is, and having to win a shootout against Brees in the fourth quarter without Brate was simply too much to overcome.

STATEMENT 2: BUCS MISSED GHOLSTON TODAY IN NEW ORLEANS
Bucs defensive end Will Gholston was sorely missed in New Orleans as Saints running back Mark Ingram ran wild against Tampa Bay. Gholston, who suffered a dislocated elbow in last week’s loss at Dallas, is the Bucs’ best run-stuffing defensive lineman with 49 tackles, which is the sixth-most on the team this year. It’s also the most tackles among Tampa Bay’s defensive linemen.

Saints RB Mark Ingram and Bucs LB Lavonte David – Photo by: Getty Images

Gholston doesn’t offer much in terms of pass rush, although he did record his third sack last week against the Cowboys. But what he does offer is solid run defense, which wasn’t present in New Orleans. Led by Ingram’s 90 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries (5.0 avg.), the Saints rushed for 123 yards and averaged 4.0 yards per carry.

Ingram and Tim Hightower combined to rush for 45 yards on 13 carries two weeks ago in Tampa Bay, but that wasn’t the case in New Orleans. Ingram was the engine that made the Saints offense go on Sunday, often winning first down and setting New Orleans up for third-and-short situations. Ingram’s ability to pick up yards on the ground also helped Drew Brees’ play-action passing game. Brees completed 23-of-34 passes for 299 yards and a touchdown without an interception.

It’s also worth noting that the fact that the Bucs didn’t record a takeaway against the Saints was also a killer. Of course stopping the run on first down often sets up third-and-long opportunities, which can create more takeaway opportunities.

TWO PROBING QUESTIONS
QUESTION 1: WHY IS HUFF STILL RETURNING KICKS?
Josh Huff’s duties as a kickoff returner need to end. Right now. It was one thing to have Huff muff a kickoff out of bounds at the Bucs’ 1-yard line two weeks ago against the Saints in Tampa Bay. That led to a New Orleans safety on the next play back at Raymond James Stadium.

But what happened in New Orleans on Sunday was even worse. After a 17-yard return out to the Tampa Bay 14-yard line in the first half, Huff muffed another kickoff, this time one that was short of the end zone. His failure to cleanly field the ball caused him to be tackled at the Bucs’ 4-yard line for no gain.

Two plays later, Winston threw an interception out of his end zone that set up a 14-yard touchdown run by Ingram. The Bucs have the worst kick return game in the NFL by a long shot and it didn’t gain any ground on Sunday. Head coach Dirk Koetter needs to go back to rookie Ryan Smith as the team’s kick returner – and he needs to tell Smith to take a knee and down the ball in the end zone for a touchback.

Huff’s 26-yard return earlier in the year is the longest kick return this year by Tampa Bay. Smith has a 24-yard return during his rookie campaign, but with the suspect decision-making by Tampa Bay’s return men and the poor blocking, the best thing the Bucs can do is take a touchback and start with the ball on their 25-yard line.

QUESTION 2: WHY DID KOETTER GO FOR THE ONSIDE KICK?
Koetter’s decision to go for the onside kick surprised some, but it was the right call – even though the Bucs had three timeouts left on defense. Koetter wanted two chances to get the ball back – one with an onside kick and then on defense if the kick failed.

Bucs head coach Dirk Koetter – Photo by: Getty Images

Had Koetter elected to kick the ball deep it would not have mattered. A first down from the New Orleans’ 25-yard line or from near midfield was the dagger regardless, so field position wasn’t really an issue. The onside kick gave the Bucs their first and best chance at getting the ball back.

Koetter decided to go for the onside kick for two reasons. First, the Bucs defense had recorded a takeaway all day, although it came close on a Coby Fleener fumble that was overturned and ruled an incomplete catch due to instant replay. And second, Tampa Bay’s run defense had been porous the last two weeks and was giving up five yards per carry to Ingram.

You can’t blame Koetter for going for the onside kick. He proved to be right as Ingram gained seven yards on a first down run and then followed that up with a 2-yard run to set up third-and-1. Ingram then iced the game with a 10-yard run, eluding a tackle attempt by Lavonte David, and picked up a first down, which proved to be the dagger.

TWO BOLD PREDICTIONS:
PREDICTION 1: WINSTON WILL LEARN FROM THIS YEAR’S MISTAKES
This year we’ve seen Winston come out too amped in big games, not throw the ball away enough, take needless sacks, and throw untimely interceptions. More importantly, Winston has failed to engineer fourth quarter comebacks against the likes of Los Angeles, Dallas and New Orleans.

There is plenty to pick apart about Winston’s game, but you better believe his competitive nature will have him improve his game next year. Experience is the best teacher, and Winston will learn from his mistakes. Against New Orleans, Winston took a sack on first down and took a 10-yard loss instead of throwing the ball away. That set up third-and-9 and a punt.

In the second half, Winston threw the ball away and drew an intentional grounding call. He also had two interceptions in the second half, including an ill-advised throw on his first pass of the third quarter. But he’ll learn.

Keep in mind that there have also been 27 touchdown passes – tied for the most in franchise history – from Winston this year, too. For all intents and purposes, Winston should be a senior at Florida State this year. Instead, he’s improved in his number of touchdown passes – and the number of Bucs wins in his second season in the NFL. Winston also has thrown for 7,930 yards in his first two NFL seasons, needing just 265 yards next week to surpass Andrew Luck’s record of 8,196 set from 2012-13. With 178 passing yards next week against Carolina he’ll break Freeman’s record for the most passing yards in a single season in Bucs history.

Be patient with Winston. He’s making strides and it will pay off for the Bucs next year.

PREDICTION 2: BUCS WILL CONTINUE TO ROLL WITH RODGERS NEXT WEEK
It was a bold move by Koetter to bench his $35.75 million man, Doug Martin, in favor of Jacquizz Rodgers. Fortunately for Koetter, it turned out to be the right move. A week after making Rodgers inactive against Dallas in favor of rookie Peyton Barber due to special teams duties, Koetter reversed course and started Rodgers in place of the ineffective Martin, who has averaged 2.9 yards per carry this year.

Bucs RB Jacquizz Rodgers – Photo by: Getty Images

Rodgers, who came into Sunday’s game with 422 yards and led the Bucs by one yard ahead of Martin, rushed for 63 yards on 15 carries (4.2 avg.) in New Orleans before the Bucs fell behind by two touchdowns. That prompted Koetter to turn to the passing game in an attempt to catch up.

Martin may or may not be active next week, but expect Rodgers to continue to be the starter. He’s earned that right this season. And if Martin is inactive next week … oh, boy. Will that open up an interesting debate in the offseason about whether or not Martin should even be in Tampa Bay’s plans for 2017. Stay tuned.