HOUSTON -- With 49 seconds left at the Houston Texans on Sunday and trailing 33-30, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were able to do something they hadn't done all season -- take the lead in the final 2 minutes of a game.
Quarterback Baker Mayfield delivered a 14-yard strike over the middle to tight end Cade Otton, who spiked the ball as the score flashed 36-33 on the NRG Stadium videoboard before kicker Chase McLaughlin's point after attempt made it 37-33.
"We did everything we could in that time period, just trying to support our guys," Mayfield said.
But elation quickly turned to anguish despite the Bucs scoring the most points they had all season.
Rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud carved up their soft zone defense and led the Texans down the field before finding Tank Dell in the end zone for a 14-yard touchdown with six seconds remaining.
"It's a devastating loss," coach Todd Bowles said after the game. "No doubt about it. We've gotta eat it. All of us feel the same way. Especially me. I've been coaching a long time. I haven't been involved in too many of these, where it's been back and forth like that and came down on the other end. ... We should be pissed off all week.
"They scored more than enough points on offense to do it. Defensively, the fundamentals and technique, the breakdowns at the end of the ballgame and the start of the third quarter are unacceptable."
Cornerback Zyon McCollum, who stepped in for a concussed Jamel Dean, said the team experienced a "full 360" of emotions.
"Now, if anybody doesn't know -- now you do know -- it doesn't matter how much time is on that clock. Anything can happen in the NFL," McCollum said. "This is going to tear us apart or this is going to bring us closer together, and we have to come together. We have to find an identity. It doesn't matter who it's coming from. It doesn't matter where it's coming from. We have to find an identity, and we have to play together as one. We can't separate."
There had been no pressure from their front four, and no blitzing from Bowles, who built his reputation as one of the most aggressive defensive playcallers in the league. While his Cover 0 call at the end of the Bucs' 30-27 NFC divisional loss to the Los Angeles Rams in the 2021 playoffs was heavily scrutinized, Bowles has made it clear throughout his career that he's not one to lay down with a game on the line.
He even acknowledged that it was uncharacteristic of him not to blitz on that final drive.
"There's a lot of thought, and usually that's the type of person I am," Bowles said. "But with the way we were playing, and some guys in certain situations, you didn't want to do it."
Four of five of Stroud's touchdowns came with no blitz, and the one TD with a blitz came on the play where Dean went out in the first quarter trying to make the tackle.
The Bucs (3-5) have now dropped four straight since the Week 5 bye with the Tennessee Titans (3-5) and their rookie quarterback, Will Levis, up next in a home game Sunday (1 p.m. ET, CBS). Questions amid the streak have been raised about whether Bowles should relinquish defensive playcalling.
"I consider it all the time," Bowles said, "but it's not the answer to the problems we have."
Questions have also been raised about whether he'll be back next year. The Glazer family, who own the Buccaneers, have never fired a head coach in season, but how these next nine games play out will be very important.
Take Davis, for instance. He's their top cornerback, and he's made a living -- $14.8 million per year to be exact -- pressing receivers at the line of scrimmage, and being aggressive. But he spent most of the game playing 10 yards back.
"The last series, you're going to play zone when the game is on the line, so the clock can run out," Bowles said. "You're not going to sit there and play man to give them a chance to throw a fade. We played man within that game and we got beat at man coverage too, so right now we get beat at both. It really doesn't matter which one we're playing, we just have to coach it and play it better."
But the Bucs have played more zone this year as a whole. Bowles said it's because they don't have the personnel to play a lot of man coverage.
In zone coverage, they've surrendered 10 touchdowns on 207 dropbacks this year - more than any other team in the league. In man coverage, they've given up three touchdowns on 123 dropbacks - tied for the best mark in the league.
The Bucs' defense has allowed just a 40.7 completion percentage when both outside corners are in press coverage this year - third-best in the NFL - and they haven't given up a touchdown in that category. When neither is pressing, that number jumps 73.3% -- 27th in the league -- and nine touchdowns, 28th in the league.
It doesn't help that the pass rush isn't disrupting the quarterback. Yes, the Bucs had 3.0 sacks against the Texans, but they have had just one player in one game turn in a pass rush win rate of over 20%. By comparison, in Weeks 1-9 in 2021, the Bucs had eight instances of players exceeding 20% and seven instances in 2020.
And while their red zone defense continues to be the league's second best (34.6%), they've given up 426 yards per game since the bye week. Prior to the bye, it was 318.5.
You can only stretch a balloon so far before it will burst. And that's how things feel right now for a team that began the season with such promise on defense.
"I just feel we've gotta get back to trusting each other - PYP - everybody playing their position, everything will play itself out," defensive back Dee Delaney said. "We still trust our coaches. We've never lost trust in our coaches. We've just gotta trust one another more, trust that everybody gonna do they job and not try to do nobody else's job."