Bucs drop passes, stall in red zone in 32-18 loss to Giants Roy Cummings, The Tampa Tribune, published 9 November 2015 Jameis Winston saw an opportunity open up in front of him on a critical third-and-goal play from the Giants 10-yard line late Sunday afternoon and seized it. Out of what he later described as “sheer want-to,’’ Winston scrambled to the 2-yard line and launched himself into the air and over the goal line for his third rushing touchdown of the season. If some of Winston’s teammates could have seized an opportunity or two as well as Winston did, the Bucs might be celebrating their fourth victory of the season today instead of mourning their sixth loss. While Winston found the will to fly through the air with the greatest of ease, his teammates found it difficult, yet again, to perform some of football’s easiest tasks during a 32-18 loss at Raymond James Stadium. Start with wide receiver Mike Evans. He came into the game already having dropped five of the 29 “catchable balls’’ thrown at him this year, according to ProFootballFocus. By game’s end he had doubled that total. Then there were the defensive linemen. Prior to Sunday, they had already been flagged for 10 of the 11 neutral-zone infractions the Bucs have committed this year. With another flurry against the Giants, though, they increased that uncanny total to 14. And then there was the red-zone play. Tampa Bay had the ball inside the Giants’ 20-yard-lline four times, but it wasn’t until Winston’s scramble cut the New York lead down to 20-18 with 9:35 left in the fourth quarter that they actually moved the ball into the end zone. “Dropped balls, untimely penalties, and two fumbles didn’t help us any either,’’ Lovie Smith said. “We just did some things that kept us from winning the football game. It’s really kind of simple as that. We hung in there and we felt like we had a chance to win. We just didn’t quite get it done. And when a game ends up the way this one did, (mistakes) like that really kind of stand out a little bit.’’ Not even Winston, who completed 19 of 36 passes for 249 yards and avoided turning the ball over for the fourth straight game, could be absolved of blame. That, at least, is how Winston saw it. The Bucs problems’ turning red-zone opportunities into touchdowns, which started two plays into the game after Sterling Moore set the offense up at the New York 13 by intercepting Eli Manning’s first pass, were largely on him, Winston said. “That’s one of the goals that (offensive coordinator Dirk) Koetter put up for us, scoring in the red zone, and it’s my fault every single time,’’ Winston said. “Guys are getting open. I just have to make the throw. Yeah, it’s quicker, it’s faster, it’s tighter down there. But I have to come through in the clutch when it’s time to come through. I just have to take more initiative. It has to matter more to me.’’ Winston might not be the only one who needs to take more initiative. The same could be said for the defense. A unit that failed to force the Falcons to punt even once during a 23-20 overtime victory at Atlanta last week had similar difficulties this week, as it forced the Giants into just one punting situation, that coming early in the fourth quarter. The Bucs also failed to record a sack. And, while they did take the ball away twice on interceptions, they allowed the Giants to convert nine of their 16 third-down opportunities (56 percent). Still, Smith thought the defensive effort was good enough to win, considering the Giants’ final points came on a fumble that was lost after the Bucs started lateralling the ball around in a mad scramble in front of their own end zone. “I think we played good enough defense today,’’ Smith said. “Guys did some good things. There were a few times we would have liked to have kept them out (of the end zone), but we’re making progress. Players like Sterling Moore, Jude (Adjei-Barimah), Alterraun Verner, guys we’ve been counting on to step up, did that today. So, there were some bright moments. It’s just that some of the things that we did, they kind of leave a black eye a little bit.’’