The Tampa Bay Buccaneers did the seemingly impossible in this game: they scored a touchdown on offense in the first quarter. In fact, they scored it on their opening possession as Legarrette Blount got to punch it in from one yard out. Two possessions later they took a commanding lead after a Ronde Barber interception of Blaine Gabbert gave the Bucs the ball around midfield. A 13-yard Josh Freeman scramble capped that drive, and for a moment the Bucs reminded the fans of the 2010 season.
And then, 2011 struck. A fumbled punt by Preston Parker, a blown coverage by Tanard Jackson (according to Raheem Morris), a fumble by Josh Freeman and finally an interception were all part of the worst second quarter of the season. When the Bucs and Jaguars went inside for halftime, the Bucs suddenly trailed 28-14 after four unanswered Jacksonville touchdowns. A team that had not scored more than 20 points all season long had managed to put up 28 points on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in just under a quarter.
This wasn't a case of a few bad plays. It was a total team meltdown. In one quarter. Special teams, offense and defense all gave up touchdowns in embarrassing fashion. When WR Mike Thomas was out with injury, the Bucs let the Jaguars' only receiving threat get behind them in Marcedes Lewis. They allowed Blaine Gabbert to go down the field and score a touchdown in a two-minute drive. It was horrendous. And it felt like the final nail in Raheem Morris' coffin.
The second half started out in hilariously incompetent fashion. After forcing a Jacksonville punt, the Buccaneers went right back to being terrible. Josh Freeman's pass to Legarrette Blount was tipped at the line, resulting in a Paul Posluszny interception. Three plays later, Blaine Gabbert threw an interception to Mason Foster. But the Bucs didn't care: Legarrette Blount fumbled the ball right back on his next carry.
That show of incompetence didn't lead to a score, somehow, but the Jaguars would score two more touchdowns nonetheless. Shamefully, both came on long drives of 10 and 9 yards respectively. The Bucs couldn't stop a team that had one offensive weapon and a rookie QB who had looked horrible in every previous game. The Bucs couldn't score on a team that was so talent-depleted on defense it was starting a cornerback who couldn't make the Bucs' own squad. Worse yet, they were blown out by that team.
Now, the Bucs have been blown out by two teams that are almost assuredly going to end the season with double-digit losses in the Carolina Panthers and Jacksonville Jaguars. I can't see them winning another game this season, as they face the Dallas Cowboys, the Carolina Panthers in Carolina and the Atlanta Falcons in Atlanta.
All of this feels like the prelude to the end of the Raheem Morris era. The Bucs are playing worse in every consecutive game. They're being blown out by objectively terrible teams. And they're playing bad all across the team. The Bucs have lost seven straight games, and not in a competitive fashion. I have yet to meet the coach who can survive that.