Tale of two halves for Bucs offensive line
They absorbed a key change up front and pushed the Browns all over FirstEnergy Stadium in the first half, but when the clock ultimately ran out, the Bucs’ offensive line was left with that same empty feeling. Tampa Bay rolled up 14 of its 20 first downs in the opening 30 minutes as Bobby Rainey ran for 80 of his 87 yards and the Bucs owned the line of scrimmage long enough to convert four of seven third downs.

“We did some things, but we didn’t play well enough to win,’’ said Oniel Cousins, who filled in for injured Anthony Collins at left tackle and limited defensive end Desmond Bryant to three tackles and zero QB hits against Mike Glennon. “The results weren’t what we wanted. At the end of the day, those rushing yards were good for Bobby, but we didn’t get the win — and that’s all that matters. I take it very personally and I need to do better.’’

Glennon was sacked five times in each of the previous two games, but was well protected most of the day. Cleveland finished with two sacks and two QB hits, but Tampa Bay’s offense failed to sustain its first-half momentum.

“They didn’t show us anything we weren’t prepared for,’’ right guard Patrick Omameh said. “We’ve all been playing football for a long time and you learn you can’t feel sorry for yourself because there’s another week and another opponent. Having said that, no one ever gets used to losing. ... It hurts every time.’’

The Bucs failed on their final six third-down attempts and were limited to only 24 snaps in the second half as Cleveland blitzed often in an effort to fill rushing lanes. “We had every opportunity to win that football game,’’ right tackle Demar Dotson said. “I know guys have pride, I know guys care, but it’s not showing up in the win column.’’