Bucs let opportunity against last-place Saints slip through their hands Emeka Egbuka was all alone in the end zone Sunday as Baker Mayfield's fourth-quarter pass descended into his hands. All the Bucs receiver had to do was catch the football and the game against the lowly Saints would've been tied with just under six minutes remaining. Momentum, and an escape against a team that entered the game with only two wins was literally within reach. Instead, the pass slipped through Egbuka's fingers, and the Bucs had to settle for a field goal and what became a 24-20 loss. If you want a snapshot of how the Bucs have lost their grip on the NFC South, there it is. Egbuka, the first-round pick from Ohio State, was the favorite to take NFL Rookie of the Year honors when the Bucs jumped out to a 5-1 start. Now he has a bad case of the dropsies, and Tampa Bay has fallen into a tie with Carolina at 7-6. A self-described perfectionist, Egbuka tried to address his recent failures after the game. According to StatMuse, he entered Sunday leading the league in dropped passes with eight. He had two more against the Saints, as well as an offensive pass-interference penalty. "It's a huge honor to play for this team and be part of this brotherhood," Egbuka said. "You know, I can't help but feel I let them down (Sunday). I'm on this team for one reason, and it's to catch the ball. I didn't." Like Egbuka, the question for the Bucs is simple: Can they really let this go? The only good thing about it is they won't have much time to wallow in their misery. They host the spiraling Falcons on Thursday night. "There's a myriad of things that could've happened that we lost this ballgame," coach Todd Bowles said. "It doesn't matter if this (Saints) team was 12-0 or 0-12. And I've said it: You've got to show up and play and make plays, or the other team is going to beat you. "Our biggest thing is we can't let one loss turn into two, because we've got to turn around and play Thursday and we've got to come to work (Monday). As bitter of a taste as this is and it's very bitter, for me and for everybody else. We've got to turn around (Monday) and not let one loss turn into two." But the 5-1 start has turned into a 2-5 slump. Egbuka's drop in the end zone wasn't nearly the only mistake the Bucs made Sunday, but it was emblematic of them. Yes, it rained for most of the game, making throwing and catching much harder. But which team should have the advantage in these conditions? The team that lives and plays in Florida or one that plays in a domed stadium in New Orleans? Bowles said the Bucs prepared for the conditions with wet-ball drills Thursday and Friday. Mayfield connected on his first eight passes for 84 yards in the first quarter, then went 6-for-22 for 38 yards the rest of the way. "We just didn't, as a skill group, make the plays in the pass game we needed to," he said. "Both teams had to play in it. I've thrown in rainy games, wet balls. I do it all the time. We practice with a wet ball. It's just a matter of putting more touch on the ball, letting guys run under it and go from there. You've got to lead them a lot more and hope they're in the right spots. I thought the focus was there. It was just a matter of not doing to the job in critical moments, especially on offense." While no moment was bigger than Egbuka's drop in the end zone, his pass-interference penalty late in the first half also erased an important third-down conversion. "It's a concentration thing," Bowles said. "Obviously, it's a wet ball thrown out there, but we've got to come down with those catches. Those are some plays we've got to make, and we've got to make them." It wasn't just Egbuka's fingerprints on the loss. The Bucs went 2-for-7 on fourth down. Their porous defense suddenly can't stop the run or especially a mobile quarterback. Saints rookie Tyler Shough ran seven times for 55 yards, including touchdown runs of 34 and 13. "We misfit two runs, and there were too long runs," Bowles said. "Cannot do that. Can't have it and be a consistently good run defense, and it's happened too many times." The Bucs seemed content to run the football during a downpour that lasted into the third quarter. They finished with 179 rushing yards and averaged 4.6 per carry. But between the short-yardage failures and poor coverage on the opening kickoff, the Saints began five possessions near midfield. Linebackers can't close the middle of the field. Left tackle Tristan Wirfs (oblique) didn't play, and both left guard Ben Bredeson (knee) and outside linebacker Haason Reddick (ankle) left the game with injuries. Then there's Egbuka. Like his team, he has to rebound. Fast. "‘Mek's a professional," Mayfield said. "He's always going to beat himself up. Afterwards, I went up to him and told him, ‘The ball is going to find you again in this two-minute drive when we get it back. We're going to need you.' It's just the nature of the game. "Telling people to catch the ball, it doesn't do anything. They're not trying to drop it. Just tell him to pick his head up. Stuff happens. You've got to move forward. You've got to play the next play." Rick Stroud, Tampa Bay Times, published 7 December 2025