Too many missed tackles resulted in a big missed chance for a road win for Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Buccaneers allowed 509 passing yards and four touchdowns to Kirk Cousins, including a 45-yard touchdown pass to KhaDarel Hodge in overtime that gave Atlanta a 36-30 win on Thursday night.
As happened on too many plays, a missed tackle let the Falcons turn a short gain into the game-winning touchdown. Tampa Bay cornerback Zyon McCollum tried to make a play for the ball when Hodge caught it just 5 yards downfield, but McCollum’s miss gave Hodge an open path for the winning score.
“The guy took off to make the play,” Bowles said about McCollum. “He just missed the ball and he missed the tackle. … Guys were where they were supposed to be.”
When asked about the tackling in the game, Bowles said, “It wasn’t very good. A lot of catch and runs. A lot of 5-yard catch and runs.”
The loss left Tampa Bay (3-2) tied with Atlanta (3-2) for first place in the NFC South, blocking the Buccaneers’ hopes for a fourth straight division title.
Tampa Bay will face another road game against New Orleans, another division rival, on Oct. 13. The Buccaneers will focus on improving their tackling and getting healthier after having 14 players on the final injury report this week.
Tampa Bay quarterback Baker Mayfield didn’t think the missed tackles were the only reason for the loss.
“It looked like it was over a couple times,” Mayfield said. “You know, the back and forth in there and stuff out there. Yeah, that was a crazy scenario there.”
Mayfield added that if he had made the most of every chance, “maybe it should have even been an overtime situation.”
