Bucs defense gives up chunk plays for touchdowns in loss to Patriots It began with rookie Benjamin Morrison, who has been platooning about every third series for Pro Bowl-worthy cornerback Jamel Dean. It's a rotation Bucs coach Todd Bowles has stubbornly lived by, and on Sunday he died by it. The former Notre Dame star was beaten on a 72-yard touchdown pass from Drake Maye to Kyle Williams on the final play of the first quarter. Morrison followed that up with a pass-interference penalty on the Patriots' next possession. It was only the beginning. The Bucs defense unravelled under a barrage of big plays in a 28-23 loss at Raymond James Stadium. Before it ended, they also gave up touchdown runs of 69 and 55 yards to TreVeyon Henderson and a 54-yard pass to Mack Hollins. "There were four (big plays) and in obvious situations, and we didn't make them," Bowles said after the Bucs' second loss in three games dropped them to 6-3. "We didn't play it well enough, and we didn't coach it well enough. I didn't coach it well enough. It starts with me, and those things can't happen when you're playing against a good team or any team. We gave them up. They were inexcusable on our part. Bad on the coaching, bad on the players." Who is to say if Dean would have been beaten for that touchdown? It was Williams' first career TD and only the third reception of his career. Dean made a touchdown-saving tackle in the game and leads the Bucs with three interceptions, to go along with a pick six and two forced fumbles. But he will become a free agent, and Morrison was the team's second-round pick in April. "We've been putting him in all year," Bowles said. "The fact that he gave up this play in this game is no reason to single him out. We've been giving him reps. Dean knows he gets some reps. We have a system that we go with. The fact is that we trust him to make plays. He gave up a play, and he'll learn from it. We gave up two big (running) plays. We weren't in our gaps where we were supposed to be. That's coaching. that's playing." Henderson ripped the Bucs for 147 yards and two touchdowns as the Patriots rolled up 435 total yards. Maye passed for 270 yards and two touchdowns. Yet, it was a spectacular play by safety Tykee Smith that gave the Bucs a chance. Smith intercepted Maye in the end zone on third and goal from the Tampa Bay 2-yard line with the Patriots leading 21-16 with 5:17 remaining. It appeared that the Bucs and Mayfield had the Patriots where they wanted them. The author of four last-minute comebacks this season was in his element. Mayfield drove the Bucs to the New England 27-yard line. But he threw low and incomplete to Cade Otton on third down and was pressured and pitched the ball forward to Rachaad White on fourth down, losing 3 yards and effectively ending the comeback. Afterward, Mayfield told Bucs players in the locker room they needed to have more pride in their work and start eliminating mistakes that crop up in practice during the week. "I think what I told the team and the offense after the game is, at some point when the stuff comes up during the week, whether it's mistakes or things we talk about, and then it shows up on Sundays, you have to have some pride about you," Mayfield said. "You have to have the fear of that failure, of messing up for your teammates when we've talked about something. "You've got to have that responsibility and accountability for the guys around you to get it fixed. In tight ballgames like this when you play a good team like the Patriots? Little things get you beat, and that was the case on offense for us (Sunday)." Mayfield said accountability starts with him. "I missed some throws you'd like to have back," he said. "Some more completions. The low ball I gave Cade towards the end. Instead, if I had stuck it on his chest, we'd have had the first down instead of getting into a short-yardage situation. It starts with me. But everybody has got to have pride about it, too." No doubt it's a slog for the Bucs on offense these days. They started with a textbook, 65-yard drive capped by Mayfield's 21-yard TD pass to Emeka Egbuka to go ahead 7-0. Egbuka led the Bucs with 115 receiving yards, but after that scoring strike Mayfield completed only one of his next six passes. "Some missed throws. There's a couple in there I'd like to have back," he said. "They did a good job of taking away the deep stuff. I adjusted to that after the fact. I started taking the completions there. When I say it starts with me, it starts with me. "It's that lull. Taking those completions and those passes underneath when they're there and keep these drives going. Stay out of second and long. Make it easier on ‘Grizz' (offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard), make it easier on our offensive line. I'll get that fixed." It won't get easier from here for the Bucs, who travel to Buffalo next week and Los Angeles on Nov. 23 to play the Rams. Tampa Bay got a little help Sunday, as both Atlanta and Carolina lost. Who knows if the Bucs get Chris Godwin or Bucky Irving back for either game? But the offense has only 9, 16 and 23 points in the past three games. "I'm hoping our guys do get pissed off about this," Mayfield said. "This isn't the end of our season. We have some very important games ahead of us. But when there are games like this, when you don't win them, it should sting. It should really, really hurt." Rick Stroud, Tampa Bay Times, published 10 November 2025