The Bucs and Seahawks faced off on Sunday afternoon for what will be the best uniform game you will ever see. More than just the aesthetics, this matchup was entertaining for all the action. Tampa Bay traveled all the way to Lumen Field, and in a difficult road environment, they stunned Seattle by coming away with a 38-35 win.

Despite the win which now has the team sitting 4-1, here is what was most disappointing from Week 5:

The ENTIRE Bucs’ Pass Coverage

One substory heading into this one was the fact that Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold were facing off. Safe to say their duel lived up to the hype as they got into a shootout trading scores. Once Panthers castoffs, each has become a $100 million man after reviving their careers in recent years.

Darnold has really turned the corner, with the latest example being how he picked apart the Bucs’ pass coverage. In the first half, he completed 13-of-17 passes for 130 yards, with the exclamation point being a six-yard Jaxon Smith-Njigba touchdown catch.

Outside of a couple pass breakups, Tampa Bay’s secondary did little stopping him from completing it to whoever he threw it to. Smith-Njigba and Cooper Kupp hauled in four of five targets in the first 30 minutes, with the former finishing the day with eight catches for 132 yards. It was not just the backend who had miscommunication and missed coverage issues. Tight end AJ Barner was left wide-open here:

Playing without Jamel Dean and Benjamin Morrison was always going to make it tough, as Todd Bowles had to move around some pieces. Still, allowing Darnold to complete 28 of his 34 passes for 341 yards and four touchdowns is unacceptable. Hopefully, one of Dean or Morrison returns to provide more resistance, but it is going to take a collective effort to bounce back from this.

Even the top players in the secondary were not safe. Safety Antoine Winfield Jr. was beaten over the top by Jaxon Smith-Njigba for a 53-yard bomb. Zyon McCollum was disappointing in coverage against Smith-Njigba and Kupp, and he was called for an illegal contact penalty that wiped out what would have been a game-changing 26-yard interception by Winfield Jr. in the fourth quarter.

ILB SirVocea Dennis

SirVocea Dennis was thought to be the answer at the other inside linebacker spot to begin the season. Instead, Dennis has been one of the team’s most disappointing players. The third-year linebacker has failed to control the middle of the field and is a slow processer as the plays develop around him. What play stood out to me was Zach Charbonnet’s 5-yard touchdown run. Dennis was out of position, leaving Charbonnet a clear path to the endzone.

Bucs ILB SirVocea Dennis and Seahawks TE AJ Barner – Photo by: USA Today

At this point, it is time to make a change at the position. Seeing more of veteran Deion Jones or undrafted free agent John Bullock could not be worse, right? Take Pro Football Focus grades for what they are, but they have not lied when grading Dennis 69th out of 72 linebackers heading into Sunday’s game. Even worse, his 27.4 coverage grade is the worst in the NFL.

Bucs’ Run Defense

The dam finally broke.

After shutting down running backs far and wide, the Bucs’ run defense had no answers for any part of the Seahawks’ offense, including Kenneth Walker III. Walker was an accelerating bulldozer, mowing down anything in his way during a 10-carry, 86-yard day. Zach Charbonnet added nine carries for 36 yards, and they found plenty of green grass throughout the day.

Bucs’ Pass Rush

Hello, pass rush?

Are you there?

The Seahawks have far from the best offensive line in football and are more of a middle of the pack group upfront. With the way they kept the Bucs’ pass rush at bay though, you would think they are far better than that.

Bucs HC Todd Bowles – Photo by: USA Today

Tampa Bay failed to record a single quarterback hit on Sam Darnold in the first half, resulting in Darnold’s aforementioned success. For a front four that possesses a trio of Vita Vea, Yaya Diaby, and Haason Reddick, you would expect more production. The only impact from them was a pass going through Diaby’s hands on what became an eight-play, 99-yard touchdown drive. They have done well pressuring opposing quarterbacks up until this point, but there needs to be substantial improvement pushing the line of scrimmage back and forcing some bad throws that the secondary can take advantage of.

RB Sean Tucker

When asked about Sean Tucker heading into this week, offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard sounded optimistic about finding ways to get him involved.

“I think it’s [dependent on] each week on what are those plays where we want to get him in there to try to get him the ball?” Grizzard said. “Last week… [was] a little bit harder to try to get the ball to different guys, but he’s doing a good job in practice, and his time will come.”

With Bucky Irving out and Grizzard attempting to get him the ball, Tucker was kept quiet.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield and RB Sean Tucker – Photo by: USA Today

The 5-foot-10, 205-pound tank failed to get rolling, recording just three carries for three rushing yards and having a tough time as a receiver out of the backfield, with three catches for negative four receiving yards. After once displaying so much potential, it seems that his only path to seeing the field is out of necessity and for the duration that Irving is out. That does not give him much time, and one has to wonder if he will be anything more than a third running back in the NFL.

Bucs’ Offense Not Starting Off Fast, Efficient Enough

Yes, the Bucs started the game with two offensive drives that ended in points, but it felt like there were missed opportunities to put up more on the scoreboard. Tampa Bay soaked up the clock with each drive, going 11 plays for 68 yards to open the game and following that up with a 10-play drive for 48 yards. That resulted in two Chase McLaughlin field goals to give them a 6-0 lead. They had no problem moving the ball; however, scoring touchdowns is the desired outcome, especially with everyone on the team talking about getting off to a faster start.

Bucs WR Chris Godwin Jr. – Photo by: USA Today

That starts with executing in the red zone, as those drives stalled out at Seattle’s 12- and 18-yard lines. Converting those is critical but becomes that much more paramount when facing good teams. A 14-0 game would have made things that much more difficult for Seattle to get back in, much like how the Eagles put the Bucs down by that amount early last week. Instead, the Seahawks came back and took a 14-13 lead in the third quarter.

It was a promising sign to see the offense’s growth to start things off, but going forward there must be a continued emphasis on efficiency, particularly in the red zone.

Bucs’ Kick Coverage

It did not help matters that the Bucs’ kick coverage was poor. If it is not one thing, it is another for the special teams unit. This time, they allowed kick returns of 43 and 50 yards, giving the Seahawks shorter fields and putting them in positions to put more points on the board. Inexcusable.