Turnovers. Penalties. Bad defense. A terrible kicking game. Stop me if you’ve heard all of this before. I know I sure have. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers finished the 2018 season with their second 5-11 season in as many years. It’s the seventh time they’ve finished with double-digit losses since 2009. But it’s not the losses that hurt Womens Vita Vea Jersey , it’s how they’ve lost that can irk even the most die-hard fans. Here lately, it’s been a constant string of the same issues - the ones that I mentioned at the beginning of this piece. The preseason couldn’t have been worse for the Bucs. It all started when the news came out that quarterback Jameis Winston would be suspended for the first three games of the season. He was accused of groping a female Uber driver and the NFL’s investigation determined that there was enough on Winston to suspend him. The suspension brought forth a surprising amount of debate as to whether or not the Bucs should just cut ties with Winston considering his past and the fact that his on-field play hasn’t lived up to his draft selection. Fortunately, the Bucs had a legitimate backup quarterback in Ryan Fitzpatrick. Little did Tampa Bay know, Fitzpatrick would take a lot of heat off the organization.It’s amazing to look back on the year and think that at one time, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were the talk of the league - and in a good way. A week after an enormous 48-40 win over the New Orleans Saints, Fitzpatrick donned a pair of aviators while wearing Desean Jackson’s gold chain and shirt as he spoke to reporters about “staying humble” after the Bucs took down the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles.I had friends that I haven’t spoken with in years text me about him and what the Bucs had just accomplished. For once, Tampa Bay was in the headlines for good reasons as opposed to the typical ones.Fitzpatrick was quickly nicknamed “Fitzmagic” and the Bucs were off and running. Talk began to surface about what the Bucs would do when Winston returned from suspension. Would they start Winston or keep Fitzpatrick as the starter?Tampa Bay was 2-0 on the season. Many experts and prognosticators had them at 0-3 on the season and some had them winning just two games for the entirety of 2018. They boasted the top offense in the league and the defense played pretty well against the Eagles. Things were looking up in the early stages of the year. But a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday Night Football and a 48-10 embarrassment in Chicago exposed the Bucs and all of their flaws. Fitzpatrick was benched at halftime in Chicago and the answer to who would be the starter was clear.That was the beginning of the end. Defensive coordinator Mike Smith was fired after another terrible defensive performance in a loss to Atlanta. The Bucs didn’t win again until they had to rely on a 59-yard prayer from Chandler Catanzaro to beat the Cleveland Browns. They shouldn’t have won the game. Mistakes and dysfunction at the coaching positions nearly cost the Bucs a win and should’ve easily been their fourth straight loss of the season.Still, at this point, Tampa Bay was 3-3. With a very winnable stretch of schedule coming up, a trip to the postseason was not an afterthought. That ended quickly though after Winston capped his turnover-filled comeback with a four-interception performance in Cincinnati. Just like Fitzpatrick’s benching in Chicago, Winston was benched in favor of Fitzpatrick. He nearly led the Bucs on a comeback, but the Bengals made a last-second field goal to win the game. Head coach Dirk Koetter then decided to make Fitzpatrick the starter for an indefinite period of time. The quarterback carousel was officially underway. But Fitzpatrick couldn’t save the Bucs this time around. After completing 70% of his passes for 1,330 yards, 11 TDs and 4 INTs in his first three starts, he mustered up a 65% completion rate while throwing for 817 yards, 4 TDs and 7 INTs in his next three starts. The highlight - or lowlight - was a 500-yard offensive performance against the Washington Redskins that saw the Bucs produce just three points. To put it in context, the Los Angeles Rams didn’t even have 500 yards of offense when they scored 54 points against the Kansas City Chiefs earlier in the year.Fitzpatrick found his way back to the bench after throwing three interceptions against the Giants. It was deja-vu as Winston came on and almost led the Bucs on a comeback against the Giants, but ultimately fell short. There were multiple instances throughout this time period where Koetter himself admitted that he didn’t have the answers to fix this team. He looked out-of-sorts, overwhelmed www.tampabaybuccaneersteamonline.com , and there were rumors that he had lost the locker room as well. Despite all the nonsense, the Bucs were able to get their first win in a month after playing a complete game against the visiting San Francisco 49ers. Then they upset the Carolina Panthers in a 24-17 victory. Andrew Adams picked off Cam Newton three times and the Bucs forced Newton to throw four total picks on the day. It was the team’s first winning streak since Week 2 and even though they were 5-7, there was still room for Tampa Bay in the playoff discussion. It looked like this team had possibly turned a corner at halftime of the rematch with the New Orleans Saints. Tampa Bay was up 14-0 and had played a very sound defensive half. Then Saints’ backup quarterback Taysom Hill decided to put all postseason hopes on ice. He crashed through Bryan Anger’s punt protection and blocked his punt, setting up New Orleans’ first touchdown drive. The Saints would go on to win the game 28-14, officially ending Tampa Bay’s hopes for a postseason berth. The Ravens then came in and ran for over 200 yards, two huge turnovers doomed Tampa Bay in Dallas, and the Falcons completed a season sweep in Week 17. Instead of finishing the season with a good win over a division opponent a la the 2017 season, the Bucs ended 2018 on a three-game losing streak. Dirk Koetter was let go after the loss to Atlanta. It was reported earlier on Sunday that Winston would indeed be back for the 2019 season. Monday, it was reported that Jason Licht will stay on as general manager. The writing was on the wall for this team heading into 2018. Another losing season wouldn’t be accepted. Koetter didn’t have what it took to win in the NFL and he lost his job because of it. So, the dawn of a new day starts in Tampa Bay. While there will still be plenty of familiar faces around in 2019, there will be a new atmosphere - and hopefully a new culture, as well. I wish I had more positive things to write about this season, I really do. Maybe 2019 will change that. NFL RECORD - Chandler Catanzaro’s 59-yard game-winning field goal is the longest field goal ever made in overtime in NFL history. GAME NOTES - On the opening drive of the game, the Buccaneers forced a Browns punt after DE Jason Pierre-Paul sacked Cleveland QB Baker Mayfield for a seven-yard loss on third down. Pierre-Paul now has six sacks on the season and 64.5 in his career. - Pierre-Paul has now recorded at least one sack in each of the past five games, only the fourth time in team history that a player has recorded a sack in at least five consecutive games (last: Simeon Rice, six games: 10/20/02 at Philadelphia-12/1/02 at New Orleans). - Pierre-Paul’s 6.0 sacks on the season are tied for the sixth-most in the NFL this season and his 11 quarterback hits are tied for the seventh-most in the league. 2018 NFL SACK LEADERS 1. LB Von Miller (DEN)7.51. DE Danielle Hunter (MIN)7.53. DE J.J. Watt (HOU) 7.04. LB Bradley Chubb (DEN) 6.54. DE Chandler Jones (ARI)6.56. DE Jason Pierre-Paul (TB) 6.06. DT Geno Atkins (CIN)6.0*6. LB T.J. Watt (PIT) 6.09. DE Frank Clark (SEA)5.59. DE Demarcus Lawrence (DAL)5.5*9. LB Za’Darius Smith (BAL)5.5* * Does not include Week 7 game 2018 NFL QB HIT LEADERS 1. DT Fletcher Cox (PHI) 162. DE Michael Bennett (PHI)143. LB Von Miller (DEN)134. DT Geno Atkins (CIN)12*4. DE Dee Ford (KC) 12*4. DE J.J. Watt (HOU) 127. DE Jason Pierre-Paul (TB) 117. DE Melvin Ingram (LAC)117. DE Yannick Ngakoue (JAC) 117. LB T.J. Watt (PIT) 11 * Does not include Week 7 game - The Buccaneers scored their first points of the day when K Chandler Catanzaro connected on a 38-yard field goal to end an 11-play, 52-yard drive lasting 4:26. - Catanzaro made a 59-yard field goal in overtime to win the game, the second-longest field goal in franchise history and the longest overtime field goal in NFL history. LONGEST FIELD GOALS(Regular Season Team History) 1. Matt Bryant PHI10/22/06 622. Chandler CatanzaroCLE10/21/18 593. Kyle Brindza @HOU 9/27/15584. Connor Barth WAS 9/30/12574. Michael Husted @LAR12/19/93 57 - Prior to the final possession of the game, the Buccaneers recorded their first takeaway of the day when TE Antony Auclair forced a fumble from Browns PR Jabrill Peppers that was recovered by Buccaneers S Isaiah Johnson. The forced fumble was the first of Auclair’s career. Johnson now has two career special teams fumble recoveries. - On the first play of the second quarter Tampa Bay Buccaneers T-Shirt , WR DeSean Jackson scored Tampa Bay’s first touchdown of the day, a 14-yard rushing score to cap off a six-play, 55-yard drive lasting 1:44. Jackson now has four career rushing touchdowns. This is his first rushing score since 2010. - Later in the second quarter, QB Jameis Winston scored Tampa Bay’s second touchdown of the day, a 14-yard rushing score that capped a 10-play, 75-yard drive lasting 5:22. The rushing touchdown was his first of the season and the ninth of his career. - Since entering the league in 2015, Winston’s nine rushing touchdowns are tied for the sixth-most by a quarterback. - Winston finished the game with 365 passing yards, his 13th career game with at least 300 passing yards, eclipsing Vinny Testaverde (12 from 1987-92) for the most such games in team history. - Winston’s 55 rushing yards in today’s game marks a new career high and the third-most ever by a Buccaneers quarterback. MOST RUSHING YARDS BY A QUARTERBACK(Team History) 1. Shaun King@CHI11/19/00 722. Shaun KingSTL 12/18/00 583. Jameis WinstonCLE10/21/18 554. Trent Dilfer@GB 10/10/99 474. Luke McCownCAR12/30/07 47 - With the Browns facing third-and-seven from their own 28-yard line, the Buccaneers recorded their second sack of the day, as DE Carl Nassib dropped Mayfield for a nine-yard loss. Nassib added a second sack in overtime, bringing down Mayfield for a seven-yard loss on third-and-three. - Today’s game marked Nassib’s first career game with multiple sacks and the first two sacks for him this season. He now has 7.5 in his career. - Cleveland had the ball on the Tampa Bay 11-yard line, facing fourth-and-two with 26 seconds remaining in the first half when LB Lavonte David stopped Mayfield on a scramble, forcing a fumble that went out of bounds at the Buccaneers 10-yard line, short of the first down marker. - The forced fumble was the first of the season for David and the 18th of his career. Since entering the league in 2012, David’s 18 fumbles are tied for the fifth-most in the NFL. NFL FORCED FUMBLE LEADERS (2012-18) 1. LB Von Miller (DEN)232. DE Robert Quinn (MIA) 213. DE Chandler Jones (ARI)193. DE J.J. Watt (HOU) 195. LB Lavonte David (TB)185. DE Carlos Dunlap (CIN) 18*5. DE Ryan Kerrigan (WAS)18* * Does not include Week 7 game - In the third quarter, the Buccaneers recorded sacks on consecutive plays, with LB Adarius Taylor bringing down Mayfield for a one-yard loss on first-and-10 and DE William Gholston recording a five-yard sack on the next play. It was the first sack of the season for both players. Taylor now has two in his career. Gholston has 11.0 in his career. - Tampa Bay’s five sacks in today’s game are a season high and the most since playing the Jets in 2017 (11/12/17). - Tampa Bay got the team’s third rushing touchdown of the game at the end of the third quarter, with RB Ronald Jones scoring from two-yards out to end a 13-play Tampa Bay Buccaneers Hats , 73-yard drive lasting 6:30. The rushing touchdown was the first of Jones’ career. - The Buccaneers had three rushing touchdowns in today’s game. The last time they had three or more rushing touchdowns in a game was at Oakland in 2012 (11/4/12). - Tampa Bay totaled 34 first downs in today’s game, establishing a new franchise record. The team recorded 31 first downs in regulation. MOST FIRST DOWNS IN A SINGLE GAME - (Team History) 1. 34 vs. Cleveland 10/21/182. 30 at Atlanta10/14/182. 30 vs. Los Angeles 9/25/162. 30 at St. Louis12/17/152. 30 vs. Atlanta 12/24/052. 30 vs. Atlanta 9/13/87 - With today’s totals, the Buccaneers now have 2,261 passing yards this season, the second-most through six games in NFL history. MOST PASSING YARDS THROUGH FIRST SIX GAMES - (NFL History) 1. St. Louis Rams 20002,2752. Tampa Bay Buccaneers20182,2613. Denver Broncos20132,1644. New England Patriots 20112,1035. San Diego Chargers 20152,078 - The Buccaneers have set new team highs for the most total yards, passing yards and points scored through the first six games of the season. - WR Mike Evans caught seven passes for 107 yards in today’s game, his 16th career 100-yard receiving game, passing Mark Carrier for the most such games in franchise history. - Evans now has 591 receiving yards this season, the second-most by a Buccaneers player though six games in franchise history (trailing only Keyshawn Johnson, 610 in 2001).