National Football League

Buccaneers observations: One final loss sews up first overall pick

Published Dec. 28, 2014 4:05 p.m. ET

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TAMPA, Fla. -- Mission accomplished.

It took losing a 13-point lead in the fourth quarter, but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers clinched the all-so-important No. 1 draft pick with a 23-20 defeat to the New Orleans Saints on Sunday at Raymond James Stadium.

In this case, the scoreboard does lie. The best development for the Bucs happened. Yes, 2-14 is abysmal. But at least they have something to show for this dreadful season: A chance to pick first in the draft for the first time since 1987, when they selected Vinny Testaverde.

"My comments last week were, 'We're going to get a good pick,' " Bucs coach Lovie Smith said. "Nothing's really changed. I know we're in a little bit better of a position, but going into this football game, we were going to have an opportunity to get a pretty good football player."

Added quarterback Josh McCown: "I don't really get caught up in where we're picking and all of those things. I know this, and I've said this before: You've got to build your team through the draft, and you've got to hit on your picks."

Tampa Bay, you're on the clock.

Here are some thoughts from the Bucs' Week 17 loss to the Saints ...

1. Mike Evans continues to impress.

Evans reached some notable milestones Sunday, which makes his standout rookie season that much more memorable.

He finished with 54 yards on five catches, which placed him over 1,000 yards for the season. His 6-yard touchdown catch from McCown in the second quarter gave him 12 scores for the season, which set a new franchise record.

At one time, the Pro Bowl looked like a possibility for the Texas A&M product. But a stretch of five consecutive games with fewer than 50 yards receiving from Nov. 23-Dec. 21 dashed those hopes. Still, there's plenty to build on for next year. After Tampa Bay's passing-game problems in 2013, who would have guessed that the Bucs would have had two receivers with at least 1,000 yards receiving this season, with Vincent Jackson as the other?

Quality development.

2. The Bucs' running game had some life.

So, it turns out Tampa Bay's offense needed to face New Orleans to form a heartbeat. The Bucs entered ranked 31st in the NFL by averaging 79.5 yards on the ground. Doug Martin and Charles Sims found ample running room and ripped the Saints' porous defense throughout the day. Tampa Bay finished with 183 rushing yards.

Sims' progress was particularly encouraging. The third-round pick had disappointed most of the season. But he showed flashes Sunday in closing with 69 yards on 18 carries and one touchdown. Martin, meanwhile, had a season-high 108 yards on 19 carries.

Next year, whoever works in the Bucs' backfield must be effective.

3. Drew Brees didn't look Brees-like ... until the end.

Credit the Bucs' defense for keeping Brees from toasting the secondary most of the afternoon. They held him to 24-of-38 passing for 281 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions.

Interestingly, Tampa Bay gave Brees fits when the teams met earlier in the season, when he also threw a season-high three interceptions on Oct. 5 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

His troublesome trend against Tampa Bay continued Sunday. But he made up for the slog with a 36-yard touchdown pass to Marques Colston late in the fourth quarter. His performance wasn't pretty, but it did the job.

4. The Bucs played with more energy ... until the end.

What was that effort from the Saints? They looked lifeless most of the afternoon, a week after being eliminated from playoff contention.

New Orleans looked disinterested and uninspired until Brees' late touchdown pass. Get to those tee times, men.

Brees missed easy throws often. New Orleans' offensive line was overpowered too much. Fortunately for the Saints, the Bucs were worse.

That was a strange day.

5. So, No. 1 it is.

On Sunday, victory was spelled L-O-S-E. Simple as that.

You can follow Andrew Astleford on Twitter @aastleford or email him at aastleford@gmail.com.

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