Losers of their last two and three of their last four, the Bucs returned to Raymond James Stadium — and primetime — on Thursday night to host Lamar Jackson and the Ravens. Despite a promising start, the same issues remained for Todd Bowles’ team in what turned out to be a 27-22 loss that dropped its record to 3-5 on the year.

Tampa Bay’s defense looked to get the game off to a great start, stopping the Ravens on their first possession after it opened with a 22-yard pass from Jackson to Mark Andrews. However, Dee Delaney was blocked into Jaelon Darden on the ensuing punt, causing a fumble that Baltimore recovered at the Bucs’ 6-yard line. The defense did well to lock it down, though, holding the Ravens to a Justin Tucker field goal that gave them an early 3-0 lead.

Bucs RB Leonard Fournette – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Starting from their own 25, Tom Brady and the beleaguered Bucs offense got to work. A nine-yard run by Leonard Fournette and an early third-down conversion gave way to a 44-yard catch-and-run by Chris Godwin. After a defensive hold inside the 10 gave the offense a fresh set of downs, Fournette punched the ball into the end zone to give Tampa Bay the lead — and its first first-quarter touchdown of the season.

The Bucs’ hot start — save for the fumbled punt — continued throughout the rest of the first quarter. Shaquil Barrett’s second tackle for loss in as many drives led to a Ravens three-and-out, then an 18-yard punt return by Darden set up another Bucs scoring drive. Mike Evans made the big play of the drive, catching a 23-yard pass. But Tampa Bay stalled in the red zone, leaving Ryan Succop to come out and make it a 10-3 lead with 26 seconds left in the opening quarter.

The two teams traded punts throughout the second quarter, with neither offense threatening much. The Bucs got a big fourth-down stop in the red zone just after the two-minute warning, but they couldn’t do anything with it. In fact, Baltimore got the ball back and eventually set Tucker up for a 61-yard field goal attempt just before halftime, but Pat O’Connor came through with a block to keep Tampa Bay’s lead at 10-3 heading into the locker room.

Bucs OLB Shaquil Barrett – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

As well as the Buccaneer offense moved on its opening drive of the game, it did the exact opposite to start the second half. A quick three-and-out opened up another chance for the Ravens to go down and tie the game, and this time, they took advantage of it.

A nine-play, 77-yard drive ended with the Ravens finding the end zone for the first time. Jackson hit Kenyan Drake for a touchdown, then Tucker nailed his PAT to tie the game at 10 with 9:05 left in the third quarter.

The Tampa Bay offense continued to be a shell of its former self on the next drive. It started off with a nice 20-yard catch-and-run by Rachaad White, but an end-around to Julio Jones for no gain and an incomplete pass led to another punt. And sure enough, the Ravens continued to run all over the Bucs on their next possession. An 11-play, 80-yard drive that took 6:52 off the clock ended with a 10-yard pass from Jackson to Isaiah Likely that gave the visitors a 17-10 lead.

The Bucs finally hit on another big play early in the fourth quarter. On 2nd & 10 from the 36, Brady unloaded a 51-yard pass to Evans for a first down at Baltimore’s 13-yard line. But two incompletions and a one-yard scramble by Brady meant another Succop field goal. His 30-yarder got Tampa Bay within 17-13 with 12:26 to go, but it was a missed opportunity after the big play to Evans.

The Buccaneer defense needed a stop to give the team a chance to regain the lead, but Baltimore continued to move the ball methodically down the field. Three plays of more than 10 yards got the Ravens inside the red zone, then Duvernay ran for a 15-yard touchdown to essentially put the game away at 24-13 with 6:55 to go.

Bucs QB Tom Brady – Photo by: USA Today

Tampa Bay got a lifeline on its next possession, with Scotty Miller drawing a 40-yard defensive pass interference penalty that set up first-and-goal at the 9. However, two costly penalties — one of which negated Cade Otton’s first career touchdown catch — forced the Bucs to settle for a field goal to get within eight with 4:57 to go.

The gassed Bucs defense couldn’t get the stop it needed on the ensuing possession. After a long kickoff return, Drake ran for 40 yards to eventually set up a Tucker field goal.

The Bucs had a last gasp touchdown drive, with Julio Jones catching an 8-yard score with less than a minute left. The two-point conversion attempt was no good. At 27-22, that was the end of it.

Brady didn’t have his best game, completing just 26-of-44 passes for 325 yards with one touchdown. The Bucs’ run game continued to be pitiful, totaling just 44 yards on 15 carries. Evans didn’t have his best game either, though he caught six passes for 123 yards. Defensively, Tampa Bay allowed 231 rushing yards and 24 second-half points.

The Bucs (3-5) will look to stop their three-game losing streak next Sunday when the defending Super Bowl champion Rams come to town. Kickoff is set for 4:25 p.m.