The Bucs found themselves in a slugfest with the Patriots as two of the best teams in the NFL went blow for blow with each other. In the end, they came up one drive short of pulling off their fifth come-from-behind win of the season, losing 28-23. Here are the most impressive players in their disappointing loss.

S Tykee Smith

There was perhaps no bigger play in the game than Tykee Smith’s end zone interception to not only force a turnover but stop the Patriots from scoring to expand a five-point lead with just under five minutes left in the game. With the Patriots in the low red zone on third down they tried a perimeter screen to the left, but the Bucs defense was ready to shut it down and Maye held onto the ball and tried to roll back to his right to find a second-reaction option.

As he was rolling out of bounds, he saw a receiver rolling with him to the back of the end zone and tried to thread a needle for the final dagger. Smith wasn’t having any of it as he fell off Hunter Henry and sprinted for the right sideline. He made a spectacular fingertip pick to keep Tampa Bay’s hopes of winning the game alive.

Smith also contributed with a fantastic tackle for loss earlier on that drive. Add in multiple pressures as a blitzer and he was just about everywhere on defense. He made yet another case in this game that he may be the best downhill box safety in the NFL at the moment with eight tackles to go with his incredible interception.

WRs Emeka Egbuka and Tez Johnson

Emeka Egbuka’s role as the primary receiver in the passing game continued right from the start of the game. He found space in the Patriots’ zone coverage over the middle on the second play of the offense’s first drive for a 24-yard catch and run. Later that same drive, Egbuka came back across the middle in the opposite direction and found space once again for a 21-yard touchdown catch and run.

After Baker Mayfield struggled to get the ball to Egbuka on drives two through four, often locking in on his WR1, the two were able to get back on track in the second quarter after Mayfield peppered other options to start the drive. On first down near midfield, Egbuka once again found room downfield in vacated zone space for a 31-yard catch and run to put the Bucs in field goal range.

Bucs WR Emeka Egbuka – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Egbuka finished the game with six catches for 115 yards and a touchdown.

While he was the big play machine, Tez Johnson was the red zone weapon. He caught two of Mayfield’s three touchdown passes, both of them were in the low red zone. Johnson emerging as a reliable part of the passing attack with three of Tampa Bay’s top four receivers down with injury has been an incredible boon for the offense. Johnson finished with four catches for 42 yards and two scores.

C Graham Barton

This was Graham Barton’s best game of the season. The communication issues and struggles against front games like stunts and twists that had plagued the Bucs offense in multiple games this year were absent throughout this most of this contest. Just about all of the pressure the Bucs offensive line allowed — and almost all of it was very late in the game — came from the edges. Barton helped create lanes in the run game as the Bucs running backs combined for 91 yards on 19 carries and had a 55% success rate.

Bucs WR Sterling Shepard and C Graham Barton – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Barton was also the Bucs’ best pass blocker on the day, giving up no pressures against a formidable Patriots interior defensive line. Barton has had his hands full all season, transitioning back and forth from tackle to center. It hasn’t looked pretty for large swaths of the campaign thus far, but this was a huge step in the right direction for the young center.

DT Elijah Roberts

Elijah Roberts continues to impress as a rookie. Roberts has quietly moved into the starting lineup and showed why as he was getting push as a pass rusher. His first highlight play came late in the first quarter when he kept his eyes on Patriots quarterback Drake Maye as Maye stick-drive-climbed up the pocket and decided to try and run for a first down. Roberts closed space and brought Maye down six yards shy of the first down marker to force the second failed drive of the game for New England.

Roberts got involved once again in the second quarter as he batted a Maye pass on third down as the Patriots offense was threatening midfield. The ball fell to the ground harmlessly and forced yet another punt. He wasn’t done in the first half though. Roberts once again hunted down Maye for a one-yard loss on a sack just before the two-minute warning after Maye had beat a third-down blitz to put New England in field goal range.

He did get displaced on TreVeyon Henderson’s 55-yard touchdown run, but on the whole, the fifth-round pick played a strong game.

Roberts finished the game with two tackles, a sack, a batted pass and three pressures.

S Antoine Winfield Jr.

Antoine Winfield Jr. nearly nabbed his second interception of the season, snatching a ball straight out of Austin Hooper’s hands to force an incompletion. The play forced the Patriots into a disadvantageous third-and-9. The following play they would stop Drake Maye on a quarterback scramble and force a punt.

Winfield only recorded one tackle on the game, but he once again patrolled the deep portion of the field and helped hold Maye, who has completed over 60% of his deep shots on the season, to very little in the deep portion of the field. Maye’s lone deep completion — a 54-yarder to Mack Hollins — was away from Winfield’s side of the field.

TE Cade Otton

While Emeka Egbuka had the explosive catches, it was Cade Otton who became the engine that helped the Bucs passing attack stay on schedule for multiple drives. Otton worked the underneath became Baker Mayfield’s most targeted option, with 12 opportunities on the day. He was reliable on those chances, with a 75% catch rate (9 grabs) for 82 yards and three first downs.

Bucs TE Cade Otton – Photo by: USA Today

Otton made several tough catches and added 46 yards after the catch. He has spent most of this season helping Charlie Heck and Graham Barton on the outside of the offensive line to keep Mayfield clean. This was the second game he has been a featured part of the passing attack and for the second time he has delivered with plenty of production.

DT Vita Vea

Vita Vea was a force in the middle of the Bucs defense. He was constantly causing disruption with multiple pressures. He was the Bucs’ most consistent pass rusher and knocked Drake Maye off his spot throughout most of the game. Vea also helped keep the Patriots run game in check save two big runs. His final line on the game was two tackles, but his impact was strong from start to finish.