The Bucs must have really enjoyed their bye week because they looked like they were still on vacation for this game. After a sluggish first half, the Bucs got it together for a little bit, only to falter late in the big moments when they needed to make a play.

Eliminating penalties and turnovers were emphasized all week, yet that’s all we saw in the first half. 

Tampa Bay couldn’t get out of their own way against Washington as they committed multiple false start and offsides penalties and Tom Brady threw for two interceptions. The first one was the fault of Jaelon Darden, as the ball went out of his hands shortly after making a catch. The officials ruled it an interception rather than a fumble. 

You knew it was a bad sign when O.J. Howard had a penalty before the first play of the game was even snapped. And when a veteran player like Will Gholston jumps offsides on third down to give Washington a first down, that’s a surprise. The Bucs were playing uncharacteristic football that saw them go down 16-6 in the first half.

They began to come alive in the second half, however, thanks in part to the defense. After making two stops, which included a sack at the one-yard line by Ndamukong Suh, Tom Brady found tight end Cameron Brate in the end zone to cut the game to 16-13.

Following a score by Washington and a punt by the Bucs, Lavonte David made the play of the game. The linebacker forced a fumble that was recovered by Antoine Winfield Jr. as Washington was driving down the field. One play later and Tom Brady hit Mike Evans in stride for a 40-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 23-19. Brady finished the game going 23 of 34 for 220 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. While Evans made a splash play on that score, he only had two catches in the game.

It was too little, too late, though, because the Bucs weren’t able to get a stop when they really needed it. Washington took the ball with over 10:55 remaining in the fourth quarter and drove all the way down the field and held onto the ball until there was 30 seconds on the clock.

Taylor Heinicke continued to march the Washington offense down the field and the Bucs defense could not make the necessary plays to end their drive. In a surprising move, Washington was able to run on the Bucs, finishing it off with an Antonio Gibson rushing touchdown to put the game away. After a week where multiple favored teams were upset, the Bucs did not get the memo when they returned to the field. They’ll have an extra day to think about as they play at home against the New York Giants next week on Monday Night Football.