3 plus, 3 down in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' heartbreaking OT loss to the Kansas City Chiefs

It was a back-and-forth game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Kansas City Chiefs, with the away team winning the game until overtime. Unfortunately, the Bucs lost the coin toss and that was all she wrote after they let Patrick Mahomes and the offense march 70 yards down the field to win the game on a two-yard scoring plunge by Kareem Hunt. Controversial is Todd Bowles' decision not to go for the two-point conversion after the Bucs scored in the final seconds of the game and were significant underdogs, tempting the fate of overtime.

However, it was an encouraging loss if ever there was one for the Bucs, as the undefeated defending Super Bowl champions lost so many of their key playmakers, including their top three wide receivers. There were many mistakes on the rainy Monday evening, but there were also some positive things to take away. Here's who shined and who failed in the Bucs' 30-24 loss to the Chiefs.

NT Vita Vea

Vita Vea was a force on Monday Night Football against the Chiefs, finishing the game with 10 tackles and two sacks. His first sack came on the opening drive. The 10-yard loss put the Chiefs out of field goal range and forced them to punt. His second sack came on the Chiefs' first possession of the second quarter and resulted in a loss of three yards.

TE Cade Otton

Cade Otton was once again called upon to be the man with Chris Godwin lost this season and Mike Evans sidelined until at least after the bye week, and he delivered. Otton had the go-ahead touchdown for the Bucs in the third quarter and finished the game with eight receptions on 11 targets for 77 yards and a score.

DL Calijah Kancey

Double trouble. The duo Vea and Kancey dined on Monday Night Football. Not to be outdone by Vea's two sacks, Kancey scored two of his own. His first sack came on a crucial third down to end the first half for the Chiefs. Kancey's second sack came on Kansas City's first drive of the second half. In total, two sacks by Kancey resulted in a loss of 19 yards and ended two drives for the Chiefs offense.

CB Josh Hayes

Shot. Where should I start? Hayes struggled with coverage all night and it started early. He almost allowed rookie wideout Xavier Worthy a deep touchdown if Worthy hadn't gone out of bounds. He allowed several first down catches, including a first down to former Bucs Justin Watson in the second quarter that went for 12 yards. He covered Deandre Hopkins well on his 35-yard catch, but it was just an amazing catch from the veteran wide receiver.

Two plays later, Hayes was in coverage from one yard out for the Chiefs' go-ahead touchdown against Hopkins, leaving him wide open in the back of the end zone. He made up for it with a fumble recovery, but the Bucs didn't score any points as a result. After leaving the game with cramps, he came back and was on the cover end for Hopkins' second touchdown of the night in the fourth quarter with a five-yard scoring grab and then missed a big tackle on Hopkins in overtime, allowing him 15 yards was able to win and advance deeper into Bucs territory.

Third defense

The Bucs ranked 19th in down conversion rate in this game, while the Chiefs had the second-best conversion rate in the NFL. It showed. Mahomes tore the Bucs defense apart on the decisive down, scoring three touchdowns on a 10-for-10 pass. As a team, the Chiefs went 12-18 on third down on a night where the Bucs defense had no answers.

Midfield defense

The Bucs' midfield woes have been fully documented, and things didn't go much better on Monday Night Football against the Chiefs. Mahomes dismantled the defense as he targeted the middle of the field. The Kanas City quarterback completed ten passes over the Bucs' problem area for 85 yards, three first downs and a score. Todd Bowles tried to get linebackers JJ Russell and Vi Jones more involved in the rotation, but the result was the same. If the Bucs are looking for help before the trade deadline, inside linebacker needs to be a priority. At least the Bucs know they'll get Dean back soon – there's no hope on the horizon at linebacker.

Stick with it Bucs game day for more coverage of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the 2024 season.

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