After a couple of rough joint practices in Nashville during the week, the Bucs came out flat again on Saturday night at Nissan Stadium en route to a 13-3 preseason loss to the Titans.

Tampa Bay was once again without many of its regulars, though running back Leonard Fournette, tight end Kyle Rudolph and some of the team’s starting defensive backs saw their first action of the preseason.

The game felt like the polar opposite to last week’s preseason opener. Last Saturday, the Bucs and Dolphins played a highly entertaining game that featured plenty of positives. But in Tennessee, Tampa Bay struggled to put anything together on the offensive side of the ball and largely looked disjointed.

The Bucs and Titans combined for just 70 yards – and an 0-for-10 mark on third and fourth downs – in a scoreless first quarter. Tennessee then got the game’s first points with 5:58 left in the second quarter on a 32-yard field goal by Randy Bullock. Later in the quarter, a Rachaad White fumble resulted in a 49-yard field goal by Bullock. That extended the Titans’ lead to 6-0 with 4:14 to go in the half.

Bucs QB Kyle Trask – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Facing another two-minute drill at the end of a half like he did last week, second-year quarterback Kyle Trask was once again on the wrong end of an unfortunate turnover. He had his arm hit on a pass intended for Jaelon Darden, with the result being an easy interception for Joe Jones. His 37-yard return set Malik Willis and the Tennessee offense up nicely. Four plays later, Willis connected with Chigoziem Okonkwo for a six-yard touchdown to give the home team a 13-0 lead heading into halftime.

The second half was more of the same for Tampa Bay’s offense. The unit also suffered another key injury, with guard Aaron Stinnie being carted off the field in the third quarter.

The Bucs finally put up their only points of the night with 2:20 to go in the third quarter. After their drive stalled, Ryan Succop came on to drill a 52-yard field goal. That got Todd Bowles’ team within 13-3.

It wasn’t all negative for the Bucs, as their defense got some strong individual performances. Undrafted linebacker Olakunle Fatukasi continued to stake his claim to a roster spot, finishing with 10 tackles (five solo) and 1.5 sacks. Patrick O’Connor, Deadrin Senat and Jordan Young all chipped in with a half-sack each as well, while Don Gardner came up with a fourth-quarter interception. Rookie Andre Anthony added a late sack of his own in the fourth quarter.

Offensively, it was a struggle. Blaine Gabbert finished 3-of-5 for 13 yards in his two drives before handing the offense over to Trask. The former Florida Gator didn’t have a lot of help from his offensive line or his receivers. In the end, he completed just 11 of his 24 pass attempts for 105 yards and an interception. Ke’Shawn Vaughn was a standout, rushing for 54 yards on 10 carries. And despite the fumble, White showed promise. He ran six times for 19 yards and caught his lone target for 16 yards. Not to mention, he had two chunk runs called back due to holding penalties on rookie guard Luke Goedeke.

Rookie punter Jake Camarda was busy on the night, punting seven times for 353 yards – good for a 50.4 yards per punt average.

The Bucs will close out their preseason next Saturday, hitting the road for a matchup with the Indianapolis Colts.