Cowboys hand Bucs eighth straight loss, 31-15 Roy Cummings, The Tampa Tribune, published 18 December 2011 The rumors and speculation regarding Raheem Morris' future as the coach the Buccaneers are sure to increase in intensity this week. His players, after all, did little Saturday night to quell them. In front of a rare full house of fans given little reason to cheer and plenty of opportunity to boo, the Bucs looked largely disinterested during a 31-15 loss to the Dallas Cowboys at Raymond James Stadium. The loss was the eighth straight for Tampa Bay, which fell to 4-10. The Bucs put together an occasional splash play, but otherwise did little to suggest their losing streak will stop before the season does. Whether Morris makes it that far will be a hot topic for debate in the coming days. Sitting on a seat that was already heating up, Morris and the Bucs quickly went up in flames against the Cowboys. "I just hope everybody is learning from this, from all these losses, so that next year we can come back with a vengeance," Bucs left tackle Donald Penn said. "We'll be able to get a lot done in the offseason. That's what I'm really looking forward to. We have a lot of things that we have to fix." Less than a week after giving up 41 straight points to the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Bucs allowed the Cowboys to roll up 28 points and 279 yards of offense by halftime. The Bucs mounted a spirited comeback, getting third-quarter scores from linebacker Dekoda Watson on a 7-yard fumble return and receiver Dezmon Briscoe on a 13-yard pass, plus tight end Kellen Winslow's two-point conversion catch. "We found a little groove there, finally, in the third quarter," Jeff Faine said. "Unfortunately, we couldn't find that in the first half." The Bucs also put together a promising drive midway through the fourth quarter, but it fizzled out shortly after moving into Dallas territory. Not that it would have mattered. By then the damage had been done and, as usual, a lot of the damage was self-inflicted. The Cowboys' first touchdown came after Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman fumbled the ball away at the end of a 7-yard run on first down from Tampa Bay's 49-yard line. "That first turnover was one of those momentum killers," Morris said. "Those things can't happen. You can't fumble on your first drive and expect to win football games." The turnover was the league-leading 32nd of the season for the Bucs, who devoted extra practice time last week to correcting their turnovers issues, but clearly not quite enough. Our turnover differential is the biggest reason we are where we are," Faine said. "We're not playing to our potential, and that's something that we have to fix." Any time the Bucs might have devoted to tackling seemed to have been wasted as well, as several modest gains by Cowboys ball carriers and pass catchers became big gains due to missed or poor tackles. Penalties also continued to be a problem. During that fourth-quarter drive, Freeman was penalized for intentional grounding on a first-and-10 play from the Dallas 42. The Bucs never recovered. "You can't win a game if you can't finish a drive offensively or defensively, and that's what happened today," Bucs defensive tackle Roy Miller said. That drive was a rare bright spot in another dismal outing for a team that has lost nine of its past 10, a remarkable stretch considering where the Bucs were when the streak began. Just nine weeks ago, Tampa Bay had won 16 of their previous 25 games and had the fourth-best record in the league over that span. Now, with a few notable exceptions, they can't seem to find their way. One exception Saturday was rookie defensive end Adrian Clayborn, who recorded a third-quarter sack-fumble of Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo to set up Watson's touchdown return. The sack gave Clayborn, the team's first-round draft in April, 7.5 for the season, the most by a Buccaneer since Greg White's eight sacks in 2007 and the most by a Bucs rookie since Santana Dotson's 10 in 1992. The Bucs also got an encouraging outing from Briscoe, who stepped into the starting lineup in place of Arrelious Benn (concussion) and had three receptions for 36 yards, including a 13-yarder for Tampa Bay's lone offensive touchdown. Watson, meanwhile, came up with a couple of big stops on special teams that allowed the Bucs' defense to work with favorable field position on at least two occasions. In both instances, though, the defense failed to take advantage. The Bucs' defense continued to struggle, as Romo completed 23 of 30 throws for 249 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran for a 1-yard touchdown. Dallas running back Felix Jones ran 22 times for 108 yards as a replacement for lead back DeMarco Murray, who was placed on injured reserve earlier in the week. The Bucs might wind up having to do the same with cornerback Aqib Talib, who started the game but quickly exited after aggravating a hamstring strain that has bothered him since before the midway point in the season. "You still have to go out and play football," Morris said. "That's what we practice for."