When Monday Night Football kicked off in Week 9, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers faced a tall task on the road against the world champion Kansas City Chiefs. In the first half, the Bucs hung with Kansas City and gave them everything they possibly could, entering into the locker room down just 10-7 in a tight matchup.
Tampa Bay's defense looked active, motivated and as good as they've looked all season long, for the most part. They were giving this offense a shot on a night where Baker Mayfield was without Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Jalen McMillan.
The third quarter ended up being an eventful one for that offense, too, as the Bucs would march down on their first drive of the second half and score on a Cade Otton touchdown reception. Following the score, Tampa forced the Chiefs to punt and looked to really grab hold of the momentum in this one.
However, the following drive would end in a less-than-ideal fashion. Tampa Bay had driving, until they weren't -- and by no fault of their own.
As the Bucs were driving and leading 14-10 midway through the third quarter, running back Bucky Irving took a first down run, for eight yards, down to the Chiefs' 20-yard-line.
Another phantom facemask call wrecked a Bucs prime time drive
After Irving's run, it would have set the Bucs up for a mere 2nd-and-2. Yet, the refs went on to throw a flag for a facemask penalty on left tackle Tristan Wirfs. Upon video replay, it was clear and obvious that Wirfs did not get the facemask but only the shoulder pad of his opposing man.
Still, the call was the call, and it backed the Bucs up to a 1st-and-25 at the Chiefs' 43-yard-line, which completely swung the momentum on that drive.
More Bucs news:
The Bucs would go on to gain 14 yards on three plays and were able to set up kicker Chase McGlaughlin for a 47-yard field goal attempt. The kick was good, bringing the Bucs up by a total of seven points.
But, as we know against the Chiefs, a 7-point lead is far from a comfortable one.
It was a difficult pill for fans to swallow, because the Bucs sure looked like they were on their way to scoring a second-straight touchdown in as many drives. Not to mention, this wouldn't be the first time, this season, that the Bucs were hosed on a facemask call.
The most recent example was one that completely swung the outcome of the game just about a month ago against the Atlanta Falcons.
It was a sight Bucs fans sure didn't like to see, and something the league certainly needs to look into. After a Week 9 full of many questionable calls, this wasn't the only notable bad call or missed call over the weekend.