Bucs Can't Catch Up to Colts, Fall to 4-7
The defense followed with another three-and-out, though Winfield couldn't quite hold on to an interception on third down. The resulting punt was fair caught by Deven Thompkins at the Bucs' 22. White found a lane up the left hashmarks and zipped through it for 13 yards on the first play of the drive and Chase Edmonds got 11 more up the middle on the next snap. Blitzing CB Kenny Moore gave the Bucs 15 yards by going low on Mayfield and drawing a roughing-the-passer flag, putting the ball at the Indy 39. Two more White runs made it third-and-four as the two-minute warning arrived. White ran for a first down after the stoppage in play but the play came back on an Aaron Stinnie holding call. Godwin couldn't hold on to a sideline pass that wouldn't have gotten the first done but might have put the Bucs in field goal range, so the punting unit came out. Camarda's kick went into the end zone for a touchback with 1:44 left in the half.
Moss ran right up the gut for 16 yards, and two plays later a short pass to Moss gained nine to the Colts' 47. An incomplete pass stopped the clock with 22 seconds left and Minshew had to throw it away under pressure on second down. Short completions to Downs and Pittman ran the clock down to two seconds and Gay came on to try a 58-yard field. His kick had the distance but bounced off the left upright. That meant the Colts' lead heading into halftime was just seven points.
Indy got the ball to start the second half and Kancey dropped Taylor in the backfield on the first play for a loss of two. Two plays later, on third-and-six, the Bucs blitzed and Minshew was able to thread the needle to TE Will Mallory for a first down at the Colts' 41. A quick slant to Mallory on the next play put the ball in Bucs territory, and Taylor found a seam to get 11 more to the Bucs' 31. Moss ran for another first down at the 21, but the Bucs' defense held there and the Colts sent out Gay for a 36-yard field goal and a 20-10 lead.
Mayfield threw to Godwin on a designed rollout right and Godwin spun away from the first defender to get a total of 24 yards on first down. Two White runs gained a total of 14 yards and made it first-and-10 at the Colts' 40. A sack for seven yards and a dropped pass by WR Trey Palmer sucked the momentum out of the drive, however, and the Bucs elected to punt from the 41. The ball went into the end zone for a touchback.
Minshew threw over a blitz on second down to get the ball to Downs at the 32 for a first down. Moss found room to run wide around left tackle on the next snap and got 13 yards to the Indy 45. After getting another first down on two runs, the Colts fell into a third-and-six at the Bucs' 40. After Minshew's third-down pass landed at Downs' feet, the Colts left their offense on the field and went for it. Minshew threw in Downs' direction again but S Dee Delaney closed fast to break up the play.
That turned the ball over on downs to the Bucs' offense, which found itself in a third-and-eight after an unsuccessful Mayfield scramble on second down. However, Mayfield took off again on third down and lowered his shoulder into S Julian Blackmon to finish a 14-yard run for a frist down at the Colts' 44 as the third quarter came to a close. Unfortunately, the fourth quarter started with a pass to Palmer for no yards and a pair of incompletions and the Bucs went for it on fourth-and-10 and Mayfield fit a deep out pass between two defenders to Godwin for a drive-saving 19-yard gain. Two plays later, Mayfield faked a handoff and rolled left before lobbing a perfect 23-yard touchdown pass to Evans. The extra point made it a three-point game with 13 minutes to go.
Minshew got the Colts' ensuing drive going with a 16-yard to Pittman over the middle, but a holding call pushed the offense back to the 32. Two completions got the Colts back to a third-and-six and Minshew then scrambled for clsoe to the needed yardage. He did come up about a foot short, so the Colts went for it again on fourth down from the Bucs' 49. Minshew faked a handoff and hid the ball for a moment before tossing over the top to TE Mo Alie-Cox, who had leaked out and was wide open behind all the defenders. LB SirVocea Dennis managed to run him down at the 19-yard line. Taylor then bashed down to the 11 on one carry and down to the one on the next. Taylor then finished the job bu bowling backward over a defender into the end zone on first-and-goal.
The Bucs' next drive quickly reached a third-and-two but White found wide-open space running around right end and was able to break free for a 38-yard gain. Mayfield then hooked up with a 15-yard completion down to the six before absorbing a six-yard sack. After a short completion to Otton, Mayfield found the pocket collapsing and tried to escape up the middle but was sacked for a loss of one by Kwity Paye. Needing two scores, the Bucs sent out McLaughlin for a 24-yard field goal that made the score 27-20 with 4:10 left in regulation.
The Colts' next drive began with a holding penalty and an incompletion before Kancey dropped Minshew for a three-yard sack. Indy handed off to Taylor on third-and-23 to keep the clock moving, then punted after Taylor's 12-yard gain. The punt was downed at Tampa Bay's 35 with 2:21 left.
After a seven-yard catch by Palmer, the Bucs gave five of them back on an illegal shift penalty as the two-minute warning arrived. After a four-yard White run, Ebukam swatted the ball out of Mayfield's hand on third down and Dayo Odeyingbo recovered at the Bucs' 38.
