Coming off their first 0-2 start since 2014, the Bucs were back at Raymond James Stadium Sunday afternoon searching for their first win of the season with the 2-0 Vikings in town.

As if coming in at 0-2 and reeling wasn’t bad enough for Todd Bowles and his Tampa Bay squad, it was a rather unfriendly environment for the home team to walk into. Well before kickoff, swarms of purple packed the stadium, and even by the time the game got going at 4:05 p.m., it felt more like a neutral site game than any sort of home-field advantage for the Bucs, which is an indictment on just how low the vibes are in Tampa right now.

The vibes are only going to sink lower after the way the afternoon played out, too, as Baker Mayfield and the Bucs offense were a completely disjointed mess on the way to a 23-16 loss. With that, Tampa Bay is 0-3.

Here’s a full recap of all the action from Sunday’s pathetic offensive showing at Ray Jay:

Vikings 23, Bucs 16

The Vikings got the ball to open the game and quickly got inside the Tampa Bay 40-yard line before the Buccaneer defense showed some resistance. Elijah Simmons got to Aaron Jones Sr. for a tackle for loss, then Elijah Roberts drew a holding penalty and from there, the visitors had to settle for a 54-yard field goal by Will Reichard to go up 3-0.

Baker Mayfield and the Bucs offense took over at their own 40 after a strong kick return by Kenny Gainwell, but they quickly went three-and-out, saw Jalen McMillan go down with a knee injury and had to punt the ball away. And on that punt, several Bucs were out of their coverage lanes, which allowed Myles Price to find enough room to return the kick 86 yards for a touchdown and a 10-0 Vikings lead.

The Tampa Bay offense retook the field from there needing to make something happen, and the unit did exactly that. After Mayfield found Cade Otton up the seam for 15 yards, Bucky Irving picked up a first down and got 15 yards tacked on after a facemask penalty. Mayfield then hit a wide-open Ted Hurst III for a 40-yard touchdown, which got the Bucs back within 10-7.

Bucs WR Ted Hurst III – Photo by: IMAGN Images via Reuters Connect

The Bucs defense got its first stop of the day on the next Vikings possession, thanks in part to a David Walker tackle for loss. That got the ball back to the offense with a chance to take the lead, only the Bucs offense went three-and-out for the second time in three drives.

Tampa Bay’s defense came through once again, with Alex Anzalone getting to Murray for a third-down sack just as the second quarter began. And even after the offense again did nothing with its next drive, the defense continued to stand tall. David Walker picked up his second third-down sack in two weeks, forcing another Minnesota punt.

After that stop, Mayfield and the Bucs offense finally threatened to cut further into the deficit about halfway through the second quarter, with a 37-yard pass from Mayfield to Otton setting up a 1st & Goal. But back-to-back holding penalties on Cody Mauch and Graham Barton, respectively, effectively forced a field goal try. Chase McLaughlin connected from 28 yards out, tying the game at 10 with 5:33 left in the half.

Two big plays got the lead right back for the Vikings, though. Murray first found Jordan Addison near the sideline for a 30-yard gain, and then on an eventual 3rd & 8, the two linked up again for a 41-yard touchdown. With that, Minnesota was up 17-10 with 4:08 to play in the half.

Vikings QB Kyler Murray – Photo by: IMAGN Images – via Reuters Connect

The two teams traded punts for the rest of the half, sending the game into halftime with the visitors ahead by a score of 17-10.

The second half began with a Bucs punt, a Vikings punt and another Bucs punt, but then the home team got the big takeaway it needed from its defense. On another critical third down, Vita Vea batted a Murray pass up into the air, which allowed A’Shawn Robinson to come down with it for an interception.

It was a huge momentum-shifting play, only Mayfield and the Tampa Bay offense did nothing meaningful with it. Despite taking over at the Minnesota 22-yard line, the unit mustered up two yards in three plays and had to settle for a 38-yard field goal from McLaughlin to get within 17-13.

The Buccaneer defense continued to do its part on the next Vikings possession, forcing a three-and-out. And then came a comedy of errors type of drive for Tampa Bay.

Bucs RB Bucky Irving and QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: IMAGN Images – via Reuters Connect

After Mayfield was sacked to set up 3rd & 15, a chop block on Irving made it 3rd & 29. On that 3rd & 29, Mayfield unleashed a deep ball to Chris Godwin Jr., who raced 85 yards for a touchdown. But Mayfield only got the throw off because of a Luke Goedeke hold, so that brought the ball all the way back for a 3rd & 36. The Bucs conceded with a run, and even though Irving had his facemask pulled on the play, there was no call and Riley Dixon had to come out for his eighth punt of the day.

Yet again, the Bucs defense got a three-and-out and gave the offense a chance to take the lead with just one drive. But on the other side of the fourth quarter, Mayfield was stopped short of a conversion on 3rd & 2. That meant punt No. 9 for Dixon.

Not to be outdone, Johnny Hekker soon took the field for his eighth punt of the day, giving the ball back to the Tampa Bay offense.

The drive got going with a 21-yard pass from Mayfield to Emeka Egbuka that pushed the ball across midfield, but then the penalty bug bit again with a hold on Payne Durham. That, of course, came on a play that featured another missed facemask penalty. On an eventual 3rd & 29, though, Tampa Bay got a makeup call to move the chains for a first down. But the offense really couldn’t get it going any more from there and had to settle for a 54-yard McLaughlin field goal, getting within 17-16 with 9:02 to play.

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

The Vikings answered with a field goal drive that went only 17 yards but took nearly six minutes off the clock. Reichard connected on a 56-yarder at the end of it to give the visiting team a 20-16 lead with 3:10 left.

Needing just one touchdown drive to steal a victory and avoid an 0-3 start, the Bucs offense couldn’t even put up a fight. One first down was immediately negated by a 4-yard loss for Gainwell, a 1-yard pass and an incompletion. Then, on 4th & 13, Mayfield ran around for a few seconds only to eventually throw an interception right to Andrew Van Ginkel. Mayfield also suffered an apparent hand/arm injury on the play.

The Buccaneer defense allowed a first down immediately on the ensuing Vikings possession, which allowed Murray and his offense to get the clock all the way down to 37 seconds before Reichard came on to hit a 43-yard field goal to make it a full touchdown difference between the two sides.

And with Mayfield’s injury, it was undrafted rookie quarterback Jalon Daniels who took the field with Tampa Bay’s offense for one last “chance.” With 28 seconds to go, the unit went from its own 31-yard line with no timeouts and needing a touchdown to and a PAT to tie the game.

There wasn’t even a hint of drama, as a 9-yard scramble by Daniels was the only yardage the offense gained before Daniels threw an interception on a last-second Hail Mary attempt. In the end, it was a 23-16 win for the Vikings, which meant an 0-3 start for the Bucs.

This was a game that was all about the ineptitude of Baker Mayfield, the Bucs offensive line and Zac Robinson’s offense as a whole. Mayfield was just 17-of-34 for 217 yards, a touchdown and an interception on the day. The Vikings sacked Mayfield six times, too, and the Tampa Bay offense was a hideous 2-of-17 on third downs.

Penalties were an issue, too, especially for the offensive line. Overall, the Bucs were flagged eight times for 81 yards.

That disgusting offensive performance overshadowed what was actually a good day for the Buccaneer defense. The Vikings offense only scored one touchdown and notched three field goals, going 2-of-15 on third downs for its own part. Tampa Bay only allowed 230 yards, picked up three sacks and six tackles for loss and took the ball away once. But with the offense doing nothing and the punt coverage unit allowing an 86-yard touchdown, that was enough to make the effort from that side of the ball moot.

The Bucs (0-3) will wrap up their three-game homestand next Sunday, hosting the Packers (1-2) at Raymond James Stadium. Kickoff for that Week 4 game is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.