INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady stared blankly at the scoreboard from the bench while wide receiver Mike Evans slammed his helmet down in frustration.

If defeat means coming back to Earth after 10 straight wins dating back to last season, the Bucs fell screeching in a giant fireball in Sunday's 34-24 Week 3 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, a team ready to proclaim its own hometown Super Bowl aspirations with an upgraded quarterback, electric offense and a glitzy new stadium.

Against weaker teams, the Bucs’ inability to run the ball consistently this year wasn’t a major problem. But against the Rams, where Brady led the team with 14 rushing yards, it meant that a defense, led by defensive lineman Aaron Donald, could tee off on Brady. And they did, sacking the 44-year-old three times and pressuring him on 26.7% of his dropbacks -- third most in his time in Tampa Bay.

But the Bucs’ deficiencies on defense were most glaring. There was no pressure on Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, who, at times, looked like he had all day to throw.

“Our pass rush didn’t get home, and we had to get home to help those guys out and get it done,” Bucs coach Bruce Arians said.

“They just blocked us. They blocked us. [Outside linebacker] Joe [Tryon-Shoyinka] came through clean a couple of times. He got the ball out. The times that we did beat them, they were quick or some other thing that the ball came out quick. So, we didn't get the sack.”

Without outside linebacker Jason Pierre-Paul, who missed the game because he was nursing hand and shoulder injuries, they produced a pass rush win rate of 28.6% -- the second lowest in the Arians/defensive coordinator Todd Bowles era.

The secondary, down yet another member in cornerback Jamel Dean after he left in the first quarter because of a knee injury, looked lost and struggled to communicate.

On DeSean Jackson’s 75-yard touchdown in the third quarter, Jackson put a double move on Carlton Davis while safety Mike Edwards, who was deep, bit on the play and fell down, leaving Davis with no help over the top.

“Busted coverage. Just totally busted the coverage,” Arians said. “Lack of communication. They didn’t get the call to each other. That’s what young guys do.”

The Bucs also struggled defending corner routes, surrendering a 22-yard catch to wide receiver Cooper Kupp with 3:36 to go in the first quarter, with Stafford slipping it behind nickelback Ross Cockrell, and then a 17-yard catch to Kupp in the third quarter, with Dee Delaney facing the wrong direction.

“Communication is huge,” Cockrell said. “Obviously, losing Dean — he’s a smart player, good player — that was tough for us. Delaney stepped in, he did very well, I thought. We’ll have to continue to work on communication as a defense and a secondary to make sure that these problems don’t continue to creep up on us.”

Inside linebacker Devin White and Davis even ran into each other trying to cover Jackson on a crossing route for a 40-yard gain, setting up Kupp’s second touchdown, where Kupp faked like he was running a short out-route to the 5-yard line, and Davis thought he could keep him underneath to prevent the touchdown, but Kupp spun around and darted for the pylon.

If there is a positive, it’s that the Bucs may not see a team of this caliber for the remainder of the season, although the New Orleans Saints’ defense (Oct. 31, Dec. 19) has looked good, and the Buffalo Bills will almost certainly be at or near the top of the AFC when they come to town Dec. 12.

This week’s New England Patriots squad allowed the Saints to put 11 hits on rookie quarterback Mac Jones -- sacking him twice -- and he was forced to throw the ball 51 times, which could bode well for a Bucs defense that’s had three sacks in three games, assuming it can avoid distractions posed by Brady’s return to Foxborough, along with that of tight end Rob Gronkowski.

"[For] 98% of these guys it's just another game," Arians said. "We're playing an AFC game on the road, and we need a road win. But for two of them, it's huge. It's the biggest story nationally, and that's all they'll hear about all week, but that ain't got a damn thing to do with their job. Just get yourself prepared to play and beat the Patriots and let all the hoopla take care of itself."