Buccaneers' pathetic start against Broncos had fans absolutely seething with rage

It took one drive for Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans to start sensing that there was serious trouble afoot on Sunday afternoon. .

Bo Nix and the worst red zone offense in the known universe carved up the Bucs' defense on two of the first three offensive drives, and it's hard to decide which was more embarrassing. The first featured the Broncos going 70 yards in six plays to score a touchdown on the opening drive, and the second saw them use a short field to score again.

On that touchdown, Jaleel McLaughlin juked Anthony Nelson into another dimension and outran K.J. Britt for a walk-in score to make it 14-0. Things didn't get much better on offense for the Bucs, who went three-and-out on their first drive and ended the second with a Baker Mayfield interception.

All of that is to say, Bucs fans who had been riding a high the first two weeks of the season were dealt a reality check quicker than anyone would have liked.

Buccaneers' embarrassing vs. Broncos had fans melting down before halftime

Fans were rightfully incensed by what they were seeing, and the boo birds came out in force on social media as the game clipped further and further away from Tampa Bay.

To be fair, the Bucs were missing a handful of key players on both sides of the ball which didn't help things at all. Antoine Winfield Jr., Calijah Kancey, and Vita Vea were all out, and the offensive line was missing Luke Goedke.

It was a recipie for disaster, and it took the Bucs no time at all to fall right through the trap game door that the Broncos set up in front of them.

Making matters even more frustrating was the fact that Sean Payton was the architect of the bad afternoon for Tampa Bay. He'd made a career in the NFC South out of out-coaching the Buccaneers and the first half of Sunday's game was an unpleasant return to that.

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