The Bucs entered Sunday night’s primetime matchup against the Bears looking to prove their recent turnaround was more than just beating two struggling NFC South rivals. With a chance to make a statement against a 6-2 Chicago team before heading into their bye week, Tampa Bay needed its best players to rise to the occasion. They did enough to stay in the game, but some disappointing performances and decisions left room to be desired in a last-second, 27-24 loss.

Todd Bowles Not Starting David Walker

It was easy, Todd.

With Yaya Diaby out for this game, starting David Walker was the obvious decision. Bowles had a different plan, though.

While Nelson is a fine fourth outside linebacker, he is not the future of the outside linebacker room. Al-Quadin Muhammad has proven to be a solid rotational pass rusher, but Walker leads the team with four sacks on limited snaps. What more does he need to do to earn a start? Considering Diaby is in a contract year and could be dangled before Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline, it made sense to see what extended playing time could lead to for Walker. Not giving him the start was a missed opportunity.

Todd Bowles’ Lack Of Aggression

It was one thing for Todd Bowles to decide not to go for it on fourth down at the beginning of the second quarter. After a long offensive drive that saw them convert a fourth down already, they chose to take a delay of game penalty and kick a field goal rather than try their luck from four yards out on the road down 14-0.

Bucs HC Todd Bowles – Photo by: IMAGN Images via Reuters Connect

That wasn’t enough to warrant me putting this on most disappointing, but doubling down on the lack of aggression is.

At the end of the first half, Tampa Bay put together a five-play, 40-yard drive in just 38 seconds. With three seconds left before halftime from three yards out, Bowles had the choice to go for a touchdown to make it 17-10 or kick the field goal to make it 17-6. He went with the latter, which was a conservative move that still made it a two-score game. For someone who has gone on record discussing the team lacking a killer instinct, there are times where the head coach lacks it, too.

First-Quarter Zyon McCollum

Zyon McCollum was getting toasted early in the game. Rome Odunze made him look silly in the first quarter when he accelerated to the right side of the end zone while McCollum was stuck in neutral. Odunze was wide open for the score and looked like it was going to be another long night for No. 27 in primetime, although his struggles proved to be short-lived (see most impressive).

QB Baker Mayfield

I know people will argue Baker Mayfield’s right thumb is still not 100% and he was seen hobbling around in the third quarter. Still, when was the last time he truly looked like a franchise quarterback?

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: IMAGN Images via Reuters Connect

Say what you want about Zac Robinson’s offense, but Mayfield has not done himself any favors with his play or his decision-making, either. He threw two interceptions and now has more picks than touchdowns this season. He was staring down his reads and every positive throw he made was seemingly countered by a negative play. There are layers to the Bucs’ prolonged struggles in the passing game. It is more than just Mayfield, but the excuses are running out for the $55 million per-year quarterback. He has to elevate the offense down the stretch.

OC Zac Robinson

Zac Robinson’s offense came back down to Earth following otherworldly performances running the football. The Bucs failed to establish the ground game with nearly as much success in recent weeks. The passing game remains inconsistent as targets are being questionably allocated and route concepts have failed to put the wide receivers in better positions. The unit should have put up more points than they did given all the turnovers the defense created.

Bucs RB Bucky Irving – Photo by: IMAGN Images via Reuters Connect

TE Cade Otton

Cade Otton is looking less and less like the long-term answer at tight end. While he is commended for his jack-of-all-trades skill set, he is also the most average player on the roster, in my opinion. Still, Otton led the team with five targets in the first half. Why? His three catches for 17 yards didn’t energize the passing game and should be allocated elsewhere. I don’t understand why he was targeted eight times.

Bucs Wide Receivers

Two things can be true when discussing how disappointing the Bucs wide receiver room has been this season. Yes, Zac Robinson’s scheme has not helped any wide receiver get into a rhythm and be a consistent threat to stretch the field. That is a real concern, considering that Chris Godwin Jr. barely gets the football anymore and neither Godwin nor Emeka Egbuka are averaging 10 yards a catch.

At the same time, the wide receivers have to earn their targets and not drop it when it is thrown their way.

Ted Hurst III and Tez Johnson each had drops on very catchable footballs in the first half. Zac Robinson challenged the room to have someone step up, but Sunday night was another game where no one did. There is no alpha wide receiver on the roster.

Bucs Offensive Line Penalties

While the Bucs’ offensive line limited the impact Jeffery Simmons and the Bears’ defensive line had on the game, they couldn’t avoid getting called for false starts. Left tackle Tristan Wirfs, right guard Cody Mauch, and right tackle Luke Goedeke were each called for penalties. That is something to once again clean up going forward.