The Bucs had a sluggish first half in their game on Sunday that saw the Los Angeles Chargers score 24 unanswered points against them. But Tampa Bay flipped the script in the second half and came back from a 17-point deficit thanks to five touchdown passes from Tom Brady in a high scoring 38-31 victory.
These were the most disappointing players from the game.
SS Jordan Whitehead
Whitehead had a couple of crucial mistakes early in the game. His blown coverage on the Chargers opening drive left receiver Tyron Johnson wide-open for a 65-yard touchdown. A quarter later, Whitehead committed a silly mistake with a late hit on Justin Herbert after he was out of bounds, which helped the Chargers score on a 97-yard drive. One drive after that, Whitehead couldn’t wrap up Herbert for a sack, who then shook free and fired off a first down completion to Keenan Allen. Whitehead finished the day with four tackles and a second-half sack.
RB LeSean McCoy
McCoy unfortunately had to exit the game early with an ankle injury, but he was in long enough to miss a blitz pickup that got Brady drilled. It wasn’t a major play that impacted the result of the game, but it affected Brady’s throw and forced the Bucs to punt. McCoy had just one reception for three yards and one rush for three yards in the game before leaving early. On that one catch, McCoy’s diminished speed was evident as he attempted to outrun his pursuers. He could see his role minimized even more with the emergence of Vaughn, especially if his pass blocking doesn’t improve.
CB Sean Murphy-Bunting
Murphy-Bunting allowed two touchdowns in coverage during the game. The first was surprising as he had tight coverage on tight end Donald Parham Jr. on the play, but Parham was the one that came down with the 19-yard score when Murphy-Bunting didn’t get his head around to see the ball. Murphy-Bunting was beat deep for the other touchdown by Jalen Guyton. The Bucs sent the house on a blitz, so he was one-on-one with Guyton, who raced by him for a 72-yard touchdown reception. Murphy-Bunting finished with two tackles in the game.
K Ryan Succop
New kicker, same story. While Succop was good on all of his extra points and a chip-shot field goal, he missed a 44-yard field goal in the second quarter when the Bucs desperately needed it. Succop was brought to this team because he could consistently make kicks from inside 50. I wouldn’t look into this more than just one bad boot, but he didn’t do the job that was asked of him.