The Bucs won’t be repeating as Super Bowl champions, as Tampa Bay lost a heart-breaker, 30-27, to the Los Angeles Rams. Tampa Bay fell behind 20-3 at halftime and later 27-3 in the third quarter before mounting a huge comeback in the second half. The Bucs defense had a hand in four Rams turnovers, but once the game was tied, 27-27, with 42 seconds left, the Rams used to big plays in the passing game to get in field goal position to win the game.

Here are the most impressive Buccaneers from Sunday’s loss:

QB Tom Brady

Brady was under duress for most of the game and was sacked three times and hit on six other occasions. He was also the victim of several dropped passes on third downs, including tight ends Cameron Brate and Rob Gronkowski and wide receivers Mike Evans and Tyler Johnson. That contributed mightily to Tampa Bay’s putrid 3-of-14 (21.4 percent) on third downs.

Brady was able to rally the Bucs for 24 second half points after trailing 20-3 at halftime, throwing a 55-yard touchdown pass to Mike Evans in the process. He finished the game completing 30-of-54 passes for 329 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

WR Mike Evans

After a slow start, Evans picked up his play as the game progressed. He had four catches for 45 yards at halftime, but really came on in the second half. Evans caught four passes for 74 yards in the second half. He torched Rams Pro Bowl cornerback Jalen Ramsey on a 55-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter that helped bring the Bucs back. Evans finished with eight catches for 119 yards (14.9 avg.) and one touchdown.

RB Leonard Fournette

Bucs RB Leonard Fournette – Photo by: USA Today

Fournette had gains of 11 and 10 yards on the first two plays of the game to pick up a pair of first downs. He then had 13 yards on a first quarter screen pass. When the Bucs got down 20-3 in the first half and 27-3 in the second half, Fournette’s role was reduced until the end.

Fournette scored Tampa Bay’s first touchdown in the third quarter to tighten the score to 27-13. Then his 9-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-1 tied the game at 27-27 with 42 seconds left. Fournette finished with 51 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 13 carries and caught all nine of his targets for 56 yards.

Brady said, “He shows up in the big moments.” That was true today.

ILB Lavonte David

On a day in which the Bucs defense made assignment errors and were sloppy tackling the ballcarrier, David was probably Tampa Bay’s steadiest player. David finished with a game-high 11 tackles and had a key fumble recovery, which led to the Bucs tying the game at 27-27 in the fourth quarter.

TE Rob Gronkowski

Gronkowski’s first catch went for 29 yards and set up the Bucs’ field goal drive. His 42-yarder set up Tampa Bay’s second field goal in the third quarter. Gronkowski didn’t play his best, but with very few weapons to work with, he was the second-best weapon in the passing game for Tom Brady. He overcame an early drop to finish with four catches for 85 yards.

NT Vita Vea

Vea might have played the best of any of the Bucs’ defensive linemen. He recorded Tampa Bay’s lone sack and made a couple of key run stops in the interior. Vea also had two QB hits.

DT Ndamukong Suh

Suh made six tackles and recorded half a sack, plus a huge forced fumble on Cam Akers that led to Tampa Bay tying the game at 27-27 with less than a minute left. Suh had a team-high four quarterback hits.