No Playoffs Yet

Nothing personal to the Houston Texans, but the Bucs should never have lost that game yesterday. Ever. The Bucs stagnant defense and productive offense should have capitalized on a weaker opponent. The loss ends a 4-game win streak, and keeps the Bucs from winning the NFC South yesterday, but there is still hope to win it this week. The Panthers lost yesterday, and with a New Orleans loss tonight, the Bucs will be South champions. 3 NFC divisions were wrapped up yesterday. Let’s just hope a fourth is wrapped up this week. Let’s check out what made this loss what it was:

Taking a Nap
That’s what it appeared the Bucs defense was doing. The most points allowed all season by the defense was 33 to the Colts. 28 points was the third biggest amount of points they’ve given up all season. Houston converted 10 of 17 third downs. It’s pretty obvious that the defense was tired, but they shouldn’t have let Houston run up the stats like that. While the Texans defense registered 4 sacks, the Bucs defense got 3, all from Greg White, who also forced two fumbles. One man can’t do all the work. That could be why their backup quarterback threw 3 touchdowns.

Backup Troubles
Luke McCown didn’t perform terribly, he just didn’t perform great. Sure, he threw for 266 yards, but there were no touchdowns on his track record. McCown has usually always been a third-string quarterback, and unfortunately, he showed it. He had opportunities to get the touchdowns, but he overthrew Alex Smith and hit Joey Galloway’s shoelaces. The Bucs had hardly reached the locker room before the announcement was made that Jeff Garcia would start next Sunday. Thanks, Luke, but this team can’t quite function without Jeff.

Isolation is the Key
For the most part, the Texans defense isolated Earnest Graham. Since really becoming a full-time starter, his 61 rushing yards was the fewest yards he has mustered in a game as a starter. He did score the Bucs only two touchdowns. With his first touchdown, he scored in his 5th consecutive game. That ties a Buccaneer record. Even though he was generally stopped, he provided most of the offense for the Buccaneers, and continues to shine in the absence of Cadillac and Pittman.

Game Notes:

• Sunday’s game marked the Bucs first regular season appearance at Reliant Stadium. The all-time series between these two teams is tied at 1 apiece.
• Ronde Barber made his 158th start as a Buccaneer on Sunday. That ties him for 6th place on Tampa’s all-time starts list with Mike Alstott. Barber needs two more starts to match former center Tony Mayberry for 5th place.
• Kevin Carter made the 200th start of his career.
• Micheal Spurlock’s 45-yard kickoff return is the Bucs’ longest of the season so far.

The Bucs will take on the Atlanta Falcons next week, still a victory away from the NFC South at this point. By the time they face them, they could be division champs. As of today, before their game, the Falcons are riding a 3-game win streak. The Bucs are on a 1-game lose streak. The Falcons are starting Chris Redman tonight, hoping to end their quarterback frustrations. They must now also deal with the fact that Michael Vick was sentenced today to 23 months in prison (not long enough). Jeff Garcia should be getting the ball on Sunday.