Bucs let another one slip by in 19-17 loss to Rams Roy Cummings, The Tampa Tribune, published 15 September 2014 Buccaneers rookie receiver Mike Evans was only a couple days removed from his first NFL game when he was asked last week about the biggest difference between college and pro ball. “That’s easy,’’ Evans said. “It’s the hits. They hurt more here.’’ Do they ever. Evans took a hit on what proved to be the last play of the game against the Rams on Sunday that was so hard it not only knocked him wobbly, it also left the Bucs’ season wobbling. With Evans unable to continue playing after taking a crushing hit from behind by safety T.J. McDonald after a 29-yard reception to the Rams’ 32-yard line, the officials stopped the clock with eight seconds left. A mandatory 10-second runoff left the game clock at zero. That kept the Bucs from attempting a lengthy last-ditch field goal and sealed a 19-17 victory by the Rams that leaves Tampa Bay at 0-2 as it prepares for a three-game road trip starting Thursday night in Atlanta. A 38-yard field goal by St. Louis’ Greg Zuerlein with 38 seconds left proved the winner. It was his fourth field goal of the game. “That’s a tough one to lose,’’ Bucs coach Lovie Smith said. “We got ourselves back into position (to win) at the end, but unfortunately, we just didn’t handle that situation at the end as well as we needed to. With no timeouts and the clock’s running down, we need to get off (the field) to give ourselves a chance. I thought we would have had time to spike the ball there, but really, you don’t lose a football game on just one play.’’ Evans isn’t so sure. As a welt from the hit grew more noticeable across the lower right side of his back, Evans also absorbed the brunt of the blame for the Bucs’ latest setback. “I know the rule (regarding the runoff),’’ he said. “And I know the guys are going to say this game wasn’t lost on one play. But to me, I’m the guy who could have changed that. I could have put us in position to win.’’ NFL rules call for a mandatory 10-second runoff to be imposed any time an offensive player on a team with no timeouts left is hurt during the final two minutes of game. Replays showed there were 11 seconds left on the clock when the whistle was blown to end the play. But the referee first has to determine if a player is hurt and unable to continue before he can stop the clock. “When you end the game that way you have to look at ways to get one more play in,’’ Smith said. “But again, that’s one play. We had so many other opportunities we didn’t capitalize on.’’ The first came early in the second quarter, when quarterback Josh McCown, scrambling to his right, tried to throw off balance and across his body to receiver Vincent Jackson. Coming on a first-and-goal play from the 9-yard line, McCown’s pass wound up instead in the arms of safety Rodney McLeod, whose interception put an end to a potential scoring drive. Then there was Rams cornerback Eddie Gaines’ block of a 24-yard field-goal attempt by rookie Patrick Murray on the first play of the fourth quarter, which Smith blamed initially on poor protection and not Murray’s low kick. No matter the reason, it marked the second time that the Bucs squandered an opportunity to secure at least three points at the end of a drive, and Smith couldn’t help but factor those blown opportunities into the outcome. “Those things contributed more than anything else,’’ said Smith, who also factored in a blocked punt the Rams turned into a field goal late in the first half, shortly after the teams returned from a 51-minute lightning delay. Injuries also were a factor. The Bucs lost defensive tackle Gerald McCoy to a broken hand midway through the first defensive series. Middle linebacker Mason Foster injured a shoulder and was unable to finish the game. The result was a breakout game for backup quarterback Austin Davis, who completed 22 of 29 passes for 235 yards in his first NFL start. “Yes, we had a few injuries and that doesn’t help the cause any,’’ Smith said. “Losing your middle linebacker and your three-technique puts the defense in a hole a little bit, but nobody wants to hear about all that. You lose games when you have a field goal that’s blocked, when you have a punt blocked and they put three points on the board and you have a turnover down there in the red zone. That’s when you lose. We had our opportunities on those early (drives), but (failing to score there), that’s what we can’t do. Until we clean those things up and not make those kind of major mistakes, we’re not going to win many games.” And that’s what hurts most of all.