Buccaneers 19, Chiefs 17: Immediate Reactions

On Sunday afternoon, the Buccaneers (5-5) pulled off a major upset. They overcame some red zone struggles to beat the Chiefs (7-3) on the road by a score of 19-17. Here, we have immediate observations and reactions from Tampa Bay’s huge win.

The Buccaneers came into Sunday’s game in Kansas City as underdogs, but left with a .500 record. It didn’t come easily, as Tampa Bay scored just one touchdown on five trips to the red zone. But, its defense stepped up just enough to escape Arrowhead Stadium with a win. The Buccaneer win snapped the Chiefs’ 10-game home win streak, which was the longest active streak in the NFL.

Observations and Reactions- General

-Both teams stayed really disciplined for much of the first half until there was about 1:09 to go. In the final minute and a half, the Bucs committed two penalties. The Chiefs were flagged three times. The lack of penalties really helped the pace of the game, as the first half ended in about an hour and half.

-Overall, the Bucs committed seven penalties for 42 yards. That was promising, especially after an undisciplined showing against the Bears last week.

-I’m usually not a fan of playing conservative at the end of the first half, but I think it was the right move this week. With only 11 seconds to go, head coach Dirk Koetter elected to kick a field goal on third down to cut the deficit to 10-9. It made sense, as the Bucs were set to start the second half with the ball.

-The coaching staff and players deserve a lot of credit for their preparation heading into this game. The Bucs looked ready and didn’t appear out of their league against a very good Chiefs team. A win like this, especially in such a tough environment, says a lot about the team’s preparation and overall demeanor.

Observations and Reactions- Offense

-Tampa Bay did a very bad job in the red zone, fumbling once and having to kick three field goals before finally seeing the end zone.

–Jameis Winston was very good on Sunday afternoon, despite the red zone struggles. He completed 24 of his 39 passes for 331 yards and a touchdown.

-Even though he didn’t find the end zone, Mike Evans stayed hot this week. He caught six passes for 105 yards. 14 of those yards came on a crucial third down late in the game. It was great to see Koetter trusting the Winston-Evans connection in such big spot rather than play it too safe.

–Cecil Shorts stepped up on Sunday. He hauled in five passes on seven targets for 62 yards, providing Winston with another consistent option.

–Russell Shepard and Adam Humphries were both reliable as well, going for 54 and 47 yards respectively.

-Huge congratulations to rookie Alan Cross, who made his first NFL touchdown catch in the fourth quarter. The touchdown ended up being the difference in the game, and it came from an unlikely guy. Cross lined up at fullback and caught the pass after Winston faked the handoff.

–Doug Martin looked much better this week with a heavier workload. He ran 24 times for just 63 yards, but also added 42 big yards through the air. The screen plays designed for him worked in a big way, so it would be nice to see some more of those as the rest of the season unfolds.

-I was pretty hard on the Tampa Bay offensive line in last week’s win, but this week, it was outstanding. Kansas City’s pass rush is usually pretty unstoppable, but it wasn’t very effective on Sunday. The Chiefs managed just one sack of Winston, going for a five-yard loss. The line (for the most part) avoided some of the ill-timed penalties that have plagued the Bucs this year, which was another big reason for the win.

-Perhaps the biggest reason for the win, however, was Tampa Bay’s third down success. They converted on 11 of the 16 third downs they faced.

Observations and Reactions- Defense

-The defense got worn down on the first drive of the game, but did a great job of holding the Chiefs to a field goal after they got inside the 10 yard line.

–Noah Spence had an impressive stop on a third-and-short early in the second quarter. He’s really come on strong as of late, which is definitely a good sign for the Bucs.

-Unfortunately, Brent Grimes left the game in the first quarter with a quad injury. He didn’t return.

–Alterraun Verner stepped in for Grimes, seeing some mixed results. He came up with a big pass breakup on a third down in the second quarter, but later gave up a big gain on Kansas City’s scoring drive. Alex Smith went after him quite a bit, but he withstood the challenge.

-A few weeks ago, it would’ve seemed crazy to think that Chris Conte would be a big part of a two-game winning streak for Tampa Bay. Well, here we are. With the Bucs up by two in the third quarter, the Chiefs were threatening to take the lead. Instead, Conte picked off Smith and returned the ball to midfield, which set up a touchdown drive. He rightfully gets a lot of criticism when he plays poorly, but he deserves some major props for his big plays in the last two weeks.

-The secondary allowed Smith to go 24-for-31, but it didn’t break like it would have earlier in the season. The Bucs have seen their defense step up in back-to-back weeks, which is almost unheard of in the team’s recent history.

-Tampa Bay’s defensive line didn’t register any sacks, which was a big reason why Smith was so efficient. Even still, the Bucs held the Chiefs to 17 points. If Tampa Bay can manage to hold teams under 20 points, it should expect to win.

Observations and Reactions- Special Teams

–Roberto Aguayo continued to settle his issues this week with a very promising performance. He connected on all four of his field goal attempts (31, 22, 41, 36), splitting the uprights down the middle on all four.

-For once, Bryan Anger didn’t have a busy afternoon. Of course, that’s good for the Buccaneer offense. He punted just twice on Sunday.

Final Thoughts

What a great job by Tampa Bay. I like to be positive about the Bucs, but coming in, I didn’t like their chances to upset the Chiefs in Kansas City. The offense’s struggles in the red zone were frustrating, yes, but the Chiefs’ defense is really tough. The fact that Aguayo was dialed in made the difference. It goes without saying that coming away with three points rather than zero is massive in terms of momentum. Some early issues had fans calling for his job, but he has improved greatly in recent weeks.

This win is gigantic for the Bucs. They now sit just a game back of first place in the NFC South with six games to go. That they are even in the conversation this late in the season is a big deal, but it would certainly be great to see them finish strong. The chance to make a run is there. When the Bucs were 3-5 just two weeks ago, I called them an average football team that was destined to miss the playoffs yet again. I’m not saying this win means they’ll make it, but the outlook is much better. There’s no doubt that this was impressive for the Bucs. They snapped the Chiefs’ five-game winning streak and 10-game home winning streak. If they play like this going forward, they definitely have a chance to make some noise late in the season.

Next: John Lynch: Making A Case For Canton

This could be a signature win for Dirk Koetter and the Buccaneers, but they need to capitalize on it. They face another tough test next week when they welcome in the Seattle Seahawks (6-2-1) to Raymond James Stadium.