Bucs head coach Todd Bowles took a lot of blame for the team’s’ loss on Sunday. The team fell to the Patriots, 28-23, and while Tampa Bay’s offense certainly made plenty of mistakes with chances to win the game, the defensive performance was an oddity. With Bowles as the defensive play-caller, that falls on him.

Bowles had preached all week long to “not be that team” that comes out sluggish after the bye.

Well, the Buccaneers were that team on Sunday.

Tampa Bay got several stops against the Patriots, but there were some big splash plays by New England that led to the Bucs’ demise. The first touchdown allowed was a 72-yard catch and run by Kyle Williams after Benjamin Morrison was beaten in coverage on the play. They also allowed touchdown runs of 55 and 69 yards to TreVeyon Henderson with the latter being the one that sealed the game and give the Patriots a 28-16 lead with less than two minutes left.

Bucs FS Antoine Winfield Jr. and Patriots RB TreVeyon Henderson – Photo by: USA Today

There was another play as well late in the fourth quarter where Tampa Bay had a chance to get off the field on a third-and-14, but Drake Maye hit Mack Hollins deep for 54 yards after beating Zyon McCollum deep, setting the Patriots up at the 8-yard line. The Buccaneers survived that moment as safety Tykee Smith made a diving interception in the end zone a couple of plays later. But it was the principle of allowing that big of gain in that big of a moment that still makes it agonizing for Bowles and Co.

After the loss, Bowles was critical of himself, other coaches and his players.

Just Bad All Around From Todd Bowles And Co.

“There were four, and in obvious situations that we didn’t make,” Todd Bowles said of the explosive plays his defensive allowed. “Obviously, we didn’t play it well enough. We definitely didn’t coach it well enough – I definitely didn’t coach it well enough. It starts with me, and those things can’t happen if you’re playing against a good team like that, or any team in this league. We gave them up and it was inexcusable on our part. Bad on the coaching, bad on the players.”

What likely hurt Tampa Bay the most were the two big runs by rookie TreVeyon Henderson. The defense had done a good job bottling up New England’s ground game, consistently making tackles for little gain. But his 55-yard touchdown run came on just the second play following halftime after the Patriots had just scored a touchdown to take a 14-10 lead at the half, giving the Patriots a 14-point swing.

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

The touchdown allowed at the end of the game was even more egregious. The Bucs knew the Patriots had to run the ball since Tampa Bay had to use its timeouts. Henderson was able to bounce the play outside as the Buccaneers missed some tackles, and he took it 69 yards to the house, essentially ending the game. Henderson ran for 147 yards on 14 carries (10.4 avg.) and two touchdowns.

Tampa Bay’s defense has always been a really solid run-stopping team under Bowles. Seeing those big runs allowed came as a shock to the head coach.

“We gave up two big plays,” Todd Bowles said. “We weren’t in our gaps or where we’re supposed to be. That’s coaching, that’s playing.”

Bucs Didn’t Make Enough Plays On Either Side Of The Ball

Asked to share his thoughts about the overall game, Tampa Bay’s head coach didn’t sugarcoat it.

Bucs head coach Todd Bowles – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“We didn’t play well,” Bowles said. “We’ve got to take it on the chin. Give [Patriots head coach Mike] Vrabel and the Patriots the credit – they did a heck of a job at doing the things they needed to do. Their players made plays, our players did not. We’ve got to coach it better, we’ve got to play it better – and that starts with me.”

The Buccaneers have two tough matchups coming up next on the road against the Bills at Buffalo and Rams at Los Angeles. They need a bounce-back performance to forget how this Sunday turned out. That starts with making more plays on offense and defense than the opposition.