What did social media have to say about the tough loss?

Welp. The Bucs came up short on prime time against the Baltimore Ravens 41-31 and while the game was disappointing, the biggest storyline to come out of it was the injuries to both Mike Evans and Chris Godwin.

Evans exited the game early with a hamstring injury that will likely keep him out a little while. Godwin on the other hand, suffered a dislocated ankle late in the game and is likely out for the season. A massive blow for Tampa Bay. Let’s see what social media thought of the Bucs Monday night blunder.

On a positive note…

While Mike Evans left the game early and did not return, it wasn’t before he caught his 100th career touchdown on Tampa Bay’s opening drive.

Evans continues to build what will surely be a future hall of fame résumé. Ever since entering the league, he has been unbelievable for Tampa Bay and his name will be up in Ray Jay not long after he hangs them up.

“Throw it away, throw it away! Oh no, Baker!”

In the moment, that’s probably what many Bucs fans were saying to their TV screens. Well they weren’t alone. Legendary quarterback Peyton Manning was reacting to Baker Mayfield’s red zone interception which cost Tampa Bay valuable points.

Mayfield has to be smarter in these situations. Can’t force the issue here especially on 2nd and goal. Throw the ball away and live to fight another down. Also, he did miss Bucky Irving as the check down option as Eli Manning notes in the clip. Too many times during this game was Mayfield too indecisive with what he wanted to do with the ball.

The defense needs some work

Todd Bowles’ unit needs some re-adjusting or something because whatever they are doing right now isn’t working. Tampa Bay’s defense continues to underwhelm and give up a ton of yards both on the ground and through the air. There is simply very little resistance on that side of the ball right now.

I think part of it is the Bucs simply don’t have the horses to run with some of these high powered offenses, but also Bowles’ scheme has not worked this season. The middle of the field is constantly open, they have trouble tackling in open fields and can’t get a consistent pass rush without blitzing. All of that has led to the unit being torched by good offenses.

Gut Punch.

That is exactly how it felt when Chris Godwin went down late in the fourth quarter when he probably shouldn’t even have been in the game but that’s a can of worms for another time. Todd Bowles confirmed today that many feared last night. It’s a dislocated ankle for Godwin and his season is likely over.

You could see it on the players faces when it happened. So many guys just absolutely gutted by what occurred. Of course, Godwin is a terrific football player, but he’s an even better teammate. To make things even tougher, Godwin is in a contract year so there’s a chance that may have been his last game as a Buc. Hopefully that’s not the case but regardless, Tampa Bay suffered a loss much bigger than what was on the scoreboard Monday night.

The Bucs are now sitting at 4-3 and have a massive divisional game against Atlanta this week. It is about as close to a must win game as you can get. We will see if Tampa Bay can rebound from the tough loss in week 7.