Heading into Sunday night, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were in prime position to start closing out the NFC South and marching toward a fifth straight playoff berth. All of that is on hold after a brutal two-point loss to the Dallas Cowboys.
Coupled with the Bucs' loss was a win by the Atlanta Falcons, one the flipped them back into first place in the division. Things could change once again next weekend if Tampa Bay wins and the Falcons lose in Washington, but the point is the Bucs now need help to get back into the playoff picture after controlling their own destiny.
It was a collective failure that led to the Bucs blowing a golden opportunity on Sunday night, but a few guys let the team down more than others.
6 Buccaneers who should hang their heads in shame after Week 16's loss to the Cowboys
Liam Coen, OC
This one stings, and might trigger some of the fanatical parts of the fandom, but Liam Coen let the Bucs down with the way the first quarter of the game was called. Tampa Bay abandoned the run game out of the gate, with Bucky Irving and Rachaad White getting just two combined carries while Mike Evans was completely forgotten about in the pass game.
We've seen the Bucs come out firing on their opening drive the last two weeks, but they were flat in Dallas and the strange playcalling was a big factor. Other things played a role too, such as Sterling Shepard dropping two huge passes including one on fourth down that would have converted and kept a potential scoring drive going.
Coen has been a hot name for potentially getting a head coaching job, which is why the offense's failure is so notable. Tampa Bay ended up with 24 points, but only 10 came in the second half. The loss isn't entirely on Coen, but his contributions to how things ended up are especially disappointing.
Lavonte David, LB
An early sign that it was going to be a long night for the Bucs was how poorly the usually reliable Lavonte David was playing. He made a few great plays in the second half when the defense started to lock down, but he was on the wrong side of a pretty awful first half, which was the last thing the Bucs needed.
David was particularly bad in coverage, allowing a 10-yard touchdown to Jalen Tolbert while getting beaten more than a few times on short yardage plays. He bit on a few fakes and looked out of place as a result, something that further exposed an already depleted secondary and linebacking corps.
Much like Coen, the loss isn't solely on David and he was hardly the worst part of what went wrong, but it's how important he is that tips the scales. David is the leader on defense, one that didn't have Antoine Winfield Jr., so when he's off his game then it's easy to see how the rest will follow.
Rachaad White, RB
Aside from the massive mistake at the end of the game, it was a rough night in Dallas for Rachaad White. He finished with just 10 rushing yards on three carries, which was partly on the play calling but also partly on White failing to do much with the ball when he had it.
Of course, any conversation about White will begin and end with his game-sealing fumble. Baker Mayfield pulled off a miracle pass on what looked to be a dead play, only to have White try to weave through the Dallas defense with the ball in one hand.
It ended as poorly as you'd expect.
The loss isn't on White, but his fumble is the perfect metaphor for how things went for the Bucs. Tampa Bay fumbled away a golden opportunity to start putting the NFC South away, and it's mistakes like the one White made that have added up to make things so much harder than they have to be.
Christian Izien, QB
Unlike Lavonte David, Christian Izien is not a leader on defense and he certainly won't be mistaken for one based on how he played against the Cowboys. Izien ended up with a team-leading 13 tackles but it's the ones he missed that helped contribute to a rough night for Tampa Bay's defense.
Everything about the secondary was bad, as Cooper Rush threw for 292 yards and a touchdown, thanks largely to busted coverages freeing up the field all night. Izien was part of more than a few of these and also committed an illegal blindside block on a punt return that backed the Bucs up to their own goal line.
Sterling Shepard, WR
On the opening offensive drive of the game, the Bucs decided to attempt a fourth down conversion from their own side of the field. It was a gamble that would have worked had Sterling Shepard not dropped one of the easiest passes he'll ever see.
Shepard dropped another wide open pass a drive later, something that stunted momentum and led to the first in a series of punts for Tampa Bay in the first half. The Bucs' offense stalled out of the gate for a number of reasons, but while Liam Coen deserves criticism for some of his play calling he can't be blamed for things like Shepard forgetting how to catch a ball.
He bounced back later in the game with a 14 yard play that helped lead to points but that was the last we saw of Shepard for the night. He injured his hamstring on the play and didn't return after leaving the game.
Payne Durham, TE
Cade Otton was ruled out before the game even started, which was the first big sign of trouble for the offense. Without their big tight end, the Bucs needed to rely on Payne Durham, who turned in a rather forgettable night.
Durham finished with five catches but just 29 yards to show for it and a few less than ideal moments.
In the third quarter, he was absolutely roasted on a play that he might have been able to either get a first down on or set up a shorter potential fourth down conversion attempt. There's simply no reason a guy as big as Durham should get rocked or have such poor ball security, but that was painfully evident on that specific play.
Durham hasn't been featured much on offense, and Sunday night was a reminder of how far he has to go before he's anywhere near that conversation again.
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