We are now into December, with just five games left in the regular season. For the Bucs, Sunday’s game against the Saints was another must-win contest as they begin a gauntlet of NFC South rivals. New Orleans, despite having a 2-10 record coming in, always poses a challenge as the team brings increased physicality when playing Tampa Bay. And despite the Bucs coming in as more than a touchdown favorite, the Saints flat-out outplayed them and sent them to an embarrassing 24-20 loss.

With a short turnaround before they square off against the Falcons on Thursday Night Football, it is time to break down what was most disappointing — and what the Bucs will be aiming to get fixed before another primetime game.

Sloppy Start For The Bucs’ Defense

It was a rainy afternoon at Raymond James Stadium, and the Bucs’ defense followed suit with a sloppy start against the Saints. Following a 54-yard kickoff return by Mason Tipton, the New Orleans offense got rolling.

Quarterback Tyler Shough took advantage of a porous middle of the field, finding holes and chunk yardage by connecting with wide receiver Devaughn Vele for 16 yards and tight end Juwan Johnson for 12 yards. That got them in the red zone, and Shough’s 11-yard scramble got them down to the 3-yard line.

From there, sixth-round rookie running back Devin Neal punched it in for a touchdown, giving Tampa Bay’s most bitter division rival an early first-quarter lead. For a group that came into this game wanting to set the tone and recognizing that it is “money time,” they failed to cash in with an early stop.

Bucs Run Defense Ft. Missed Tackling

On the flip side of Bucky Irving struggling to run the football for much of the day, the Saints had no problem doing so.

Bucs DT Vita Vea ILBs SirVocea Dennis and Lavonte David – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Whether it was Devin Neal having his best game yet since filling in for Alvin Kamara or Tyler Shough rushing for 34-yard and 13-yard touchdowns, stopping the run was a problem for Tampa Bay. The run defense has only gotten worse as the season has gone on. It started with allowing Patriots rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson to rip off a couple long touchdowns in Week 10, but it has extended to failing to contain the running backs they should be taking care of. Over the past two weeks, the Cardinals and Saints have averaged five and 4.9 yards per carry, respectively.

I also want to add missed tackling as a featured part of this section, as Lavonte David failed to bring down Neal on third-and-8 in the fourth quarter as Shough dumped it off to him as a last resort. Then, after each of Logan Hall, Vita Vea, and Anthony Nelson had prime opportunities to bring down the rookie quarterback, he eluded being wrapped up and found the end zone for his second rushing touchdown of the game.

That was pathetic, and looking ahead to next week, it raises red flags — and not the kind that wave in the Tampa Bay wind. Facing Bijan Robinson next is cause for much concern.

WR Emeka Egbuka

Emeka Egbuka’s play has been mostly impressive this season, but he had one of the most disappointing plays this week. Egbuka had a chance to tie the game in the fourth quarter, as he was wide-open for a touchdown. Instead, he dropped the ball, which proved to be the difference between coming away with seven points and three points. That proved costly in a four-point loss.

It was his second drop on the day, and although he was targeted nine times, he only had two catches for 15 yards. He has failed to keep up his hot start as a key piece of the Bucs’ offense.

QB Baker Mayfield

It feels weird putting Baker Mayfield on this list after he completed his first eight passes for 84 yards and a touchdown. Going into the second quarter, a switch flipped as the rain came down, putting a damper on Mayfield’s performance. He completed just one of nine passes in the second quarter and 14 of his 30 passes overall on the day. He looked to get into a rhythm beginning the third quarter completing his first two passes, but his third throw was ill-advised and led to an Alontae Taylor interception.

Obviously, it should be noted how much the rain was a factor. Still, the results were more than underwhelming, regardless of rain or shine. This proved to be another instance of Mayfield not being at his best, and he was far from the difference-maker he was earlier this season. For this team to go on any type of late season run to provide hope, a lot rests on his shoulders.

OC Josh Grizzard’s Fourth-Down Playcalling

In a 7-7 game toward the end of the first quarter, head coach Todd Bowles and offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard had a decision on their hands when faced with a fourth-and-1. After Bowles’ aggressive approach worked against the Cardinals last week, he tried the team’s luck on going for it on fourth down again.

This time, the offense never stood a chance at converting.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield and RB Bucky Irving – Photo by: USA Today

Quarterback Baker Mayfield pitched the ball to running back Bucky Irving way behind the line of scrimmage, with defensive end Carl Granderson right there to wrap up Irving for a 7-yard loss. While Grizzard decided not to run up the gut after failing to punch it in from the 1-yard line seven consecutive times against the Saints, this was just as poor of an idea.

Trying something different had an even worse result, and one wonders how a play action pass or sending someone in motion could have thrown New Orleans’ defense off. It was a poor decision at a point in the contest that coming away with points could have really made a difference.

If failing one time was not bad enough, the offense trotted out running back Sean Tucker on fourth-and-1 immediately after left guard Ben Bredeson left the game in the second quarter. With three backup offensive linemen out there, Tucker’s run up the middle toward the left guard who just entered the ballgame proved to be fruitless as he was stuffed and led to a turnover on downs.

Overall, Tampa Bay went just 2-of-7 on fourth downs on a day that also saw the offense finish just 3-of-13 on third downs.

Special Teamer Ryan Miller

Ryan Miller might not be long on the Bucs’ 53-man roster. With wide receivers Mike Evans and Jalen McMillan on the precipice of returning, Miller’s main responsibility on the active roster has been as a special teamer — and he did a poor job on the unit on Sunday.

Saints KR Mason Tipton – Photo by: USA Today

He was the one tasked with being the contain on Mason Tipton’s first two kickoff returns. Each time, he failed to hold the outside, which left Tipton ample green grass to scamper for easy yardage. The result? Those two kickoff returns leading to 101 yards.

Want to give the Saints a chance to stay in the game? Give them short fields to work with. Time and again, the special teams unit has been the cause for criticism. This week, that criticism is pointed toward Miller.