What a disappointing day for the Bucs

The Bucs had a golden opportunity right in front of them to improve to 3-0 for the first time since 2005. Instead, they laid an egg against the Denver Broncos, losing 26-7.

Both sides of the football came out flat and paid the price. Let’s see what Twitter had to say about this one.

First downs doom the Bucs

Tampa Bay’s offense got off to a slow start and one of the reasons is their lack of success on first down. Early in the game, the Bucs tried to take advantage of a less than stellar Denver run defense but instead got shut down.

Not being able to be productive on first down forces an offense to be off schedule and leads to too many 3rd and long situations. The offense could never truly get it going on Sunday afternoon and the lack of success on first down is a big reason why.

Bucky makes an impact

Rookie running back Bucky Irving was given some opportunities on Sunday and made the most of them. He finished with nine carries for 70 yards including a nice 32 yard run to provide the Bucs offense with a spark.

Todd Bowles said on Monday that Irving has earned some more snaps moving forward. It will be interesting to see how Tampa Bay decides to deploy Irving and Rachaad White as the season goes on.

Missed opportunities for the Bucs defense

While the final score of the game may not have seemed close, if one or two plays went Tampa Bay’s way, it could’ve been a different story. Two plays that stood out were both on the defensive side of the ball. The first being a crucial 4th and goal where the Bucs appeared to have Denver stopped, but they somehow scored

That play that early in the game would have been a massive momentum swing if it had been made. The other play came later where the Bucs had Bo Nix sacked but he somehow escaped and made the Bucs pay.

That play simply has to be made. A sack would’ve put Denver in a tough spot, instead it was another game changing play.

Sean Payton still has Todd Bowles’ number

Even though Sean Payton is no longer in New Orleans, he still haunts Todd Bowles’ teams.

Bowles was able to figure out Jared Goff last week but was unable to exercise another demon in Sean Payton. Luckily Tampa Bay won’t be seeing Payton multiple times a year anymore.

The Bucs learned a very valuable lesson in this loss. In the NFL, it doesn’t matter how good or bad a team is perceived. If you don’t show up, you will lose. Hopefully Tampa Bay can put this past them and bounce back next week.