After getting some time to rest, reset, and recover, the Bucs entered Raymond James Stadium on Sunday afternoon with a significant test. Facing a 7-2 Patriots team, Tampa Bay had to brace for a gritty game coming in. This being the first game of a difficult three-game stretch, the Bucs started the second half of the season with a tough home loss, falling to New England 28-23.

It was not the kind of display the Bucs wanted to set the tone for the rest of the way, with several disappointing performances leading to their demise.

CB Benjamin Morrison

For most of the first quarter, the Bucs were in control after the offense got out to an early 7-0 lead, and with the defense limiting Patriots quarterback Drake Maye to completing just two of seven passes for 19 yards.

That all changed on the last play of the first quarter.

Rookie cornerback Benjamin Morrison was lined up against rookie wide receiver Kyle Williams. Morrison got beaten by Williams, who gained a step and got in front of Tampa Bay’s second-round pick. No one was able to catch up with Williams, who raced all the way down the field for a 72-yard touchdown.

That turned it into a 7-7 game, and it was a down moment for the promising cornerback, who was then called for a defensive pass interference penalty on veteran wide receiver Stefon Diggs early in the second quarter.

A question that has arisen more in recent weeks is what the future of the position looks like. Jamel Dean is playing out of his mind in a contract year, while Morrison has struggled to stay on the field and going through his share of ups and downs. There was a stretch of two defensive drives when head coach Todd Bowles committed to rotating the cornerbacks, which left Dean watching from the sideline. How this situation evolves is worth monitoring, but one has to wonder whether Morrison can be relied upon to be a full-time starter in 2026?

Allowing long touchdown catches, especially one to a backup wide receiver, raises some concerns.

Mid-Game Offensive Lull

The MVP hype train has unfortunately started to derail for quarterback Baker Mayfield over the past couple of games, with “MVP” chants breaking out at Raymond James Stadium for the opposing quarterback in the fourth quarter of this one.

Mayfield and the offense looked to have snapped out of their recent struggles on the game-opening drive, as he went three for three passing for 52 yards, capped off by a 21-yard touchdown throw to wide receiver Emeka Egbuka. Then, it was a largely an offensive lull for Mayfield and Co. until midway through the third quarter.

Josh Grizzard’s unit mustered just a field goal for the rest of the first half, but Grizzard’s signal-caller did not help matters much. He got away with a poor decision throwing across the middle with multiple Patriots defenders clamping up Egbuka when he had tight end Cade Otton wide-open to his right.

In ensuing offensive drives, Mayfield continued trying to force the ball into Egbuka’s hands when he had other options in the passing game. He eventually settled in, but not having wide receivers Mike Evans, Chris Godwin Jr., or Jalen McMillan led to more emphasis getting the football into the hands of the offense’s best playmaker, resulting in some missed chances.

Offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard also mixed moments of brilliance with questionable calls, going through the ebbs and flows of being a rookie playcaller. Tampa Bay came alive late, but they could not overcome a long stretch with little results.

Failing To Convert Pressure Into Sacks

I do want to preface this disappointing aspect of the game by mentioning that the Bucs’ pass rush generated pressure on Drake Maye throughout the game.

They could just not bring him down enough.

Bucs HC Todd Bowles – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Watching Kyle Williams’ 72-yard touchdown, you might have noticed outside linebacker Chris Braswell being just a step away from getting a sack. Fellow outside linebacker Yaya Diaby was also close to taking Maye down a couple of times in the first half, but there was just one sack for a one-yard loss.

That will not cut it.

With Maye already being sacked 34 times this year, including six times in each of the past two games, Tampa Bay failed to continue that trend. In turn, it was no surprise that New England started to get into an offensive rhythm and control the football in the second quarter. A couple of sacks would have drastically changed things, and it was disappointing that it failed to happen.

OLB Anthony Nelson

If you did not know about outside linebacker Anthony Nelson before the Bucs’ last win, you became familiar with his game after a career-best performance that earned him NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors. Nelson’s encore was pretty lackluster, though.

Other pass rushers came close to sacking Drake Maye, but “Nelly” was not one of them. He failed to generate any pressure nor get anywhere close to making a splash play. With starting outside linebacker Haason Reddick out for this game and being one of several players with his injury status up in the air, the defense needs Nelson to be a starting-caliber player every week. After stealing the spotlight against the Saints, he faded into the background playing the Patriots on Sunday.

WR Sterling Shepard

The Bucs needed a big play to move the chains in the fourth quarter. Electing to go for it on fourth-and-3, Baker Mayfield found trusty Cade Otton, who rumbled forward for a 29-yard gain to get into the red zone. Otton’s big gain was eliminated by a big penalty, called on wide receiver Sterling Shepard.

Shepard came across the middle and behind Otton to lay out Patriots linebacker Marte Mapu. That led to being called for a costly offensive pass interference penalty that forced Tampa Bay to punt. Outside of that negative play, “Shep” had another quiet game, hauling in three passes for 20 yards and one carry for 11 yards. Those plays far from negate his mistake that could have given the team a lead at the start of the fourth quarter.