Maybe the Bucs and their fans should view it as a merciful ending. This was a team going nowhere, even if the fates had come together and they made the playoffs. They didn't. The Bucs needed a win at home today against the 4-11 Oakland Raiders … and a win by the Philadelphia Eagles over the Dallas Cowboys, in order to make the postseason. Instead, the scenario was inverted, with the Bucs losing 31-24, thus boosting the morale of the Eagles, who stomped all over the Cowboys. (At least I can take some consolation in the Cowboy's woes.)
This was the Bucs fourth loss in a row, marking probably the biggest collapse in team history. They went from a plum 9-3 and a shot at homefield advantage in the playoffs, to elimination. On three of the four losses, the vaunted Bucs defense looked woeful — no more so than in the second half today, when Oakland ran repeatedly over right tackle and gashed the punchless and dispirited pewter-and-red defenders.
This article appears in Dec 24-30, 2008.
