The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have looked absolutely disastrous through two quarters, as they're trailing 35-7 and not getting anything done on either side of the ball.
After fifteen minutes, the Bucs were down 21-0 thanks to two Marcus Mariota touchdown drives and a terrible Jameis Winston touchdown throw going the wrong way. Winston was shaky and uneven early in the game, while Mariota looked calm and collected, easily finding wide-open receivers down the field. Not that he was making tough throws or reads -- Ken Whisenhunt just out-schemed Lovie Smith again and again.
By the second quarter, Winston had settled down a little. He drove the Bucs down the field at the end of the first quarter, and finished that drive with a nice touchdown throw to Austin Seferian-Jenkins with his first throw after the first quarter. Winston still isn't exactly dissecting the Tennessee secondary, but he's calmed down and not making the nervous mistakes that characterized his first quarter. Then again, he threw another rookie interception in the second quarter.
Unfortunately we can't say the Bucs defense improves, as they allowed four touchdowns on five offensive drives and have just one sack and no forced turnovers. That's not the kind of defense Lovie Smith wants to see, and it's a significant step back from what we saw at the end of last season as well. While Jameis Winston isn't helping, this Bucs defense is really what's losing them the game right now.
Here's your third quarter open thread.