National Football League

Last vestiges of Bucs' far-fetched playoff talk should die with Sunday's loss to Bengals

Published Nov. 30, 2014 6:43 p.m. ET

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TAMPA, Fla. -- It was another weird-and-wacky ending, the kind that can only be received with a shake of the head or a smirk if patience ran low long ago.

There were the fans, both in Tampa Bay Buccaneers red and Cincinnati Bengals orange, standing in awe after Leon Hall tackled Mike Evans on fourth down at the visitors' 33-yard line, well short of a first down with one second left. There was the Bucs' sideline, animated and deflated, most stunned that another golden chance to win had eluded them, a familiar tale in a frustrating first season under Lovie Smith. There were the sounds, mostly boos from the home crowd that saw a gorgeous late November Sunday afternoon soiled with more incompetence, all reflecting the angst that comes with following a dreadful 2-10 team.

Moments before, the Bucs had appeared to place themselves in a fine position for Patrick Murray to make a chip-shot field goal and keep their flickering playoff hopes alive. Josh McCown, who scuffled all afternoon against a vulnerable defense, had connected with Louis Murphy for a 21-yard gain to the Bengals' 20 with 12 seconds left.

There was a roar. There was a buzz. There was belief.

For a moment, it looked as if this was going to be an upset of an AFC North leader that would send ripples throughout the country. For a moment, it looked as if this unlikely Bucs victory was going to mean something, with a 3-9 record enough to keep their unbelievable-but-real playoff dreams alive in the awful NFC South.

But there was the wise challenge by the Bengals, which led to a booth review. There was the sight, a hammer to Tampa Bay's momentum: Yes, indeed, rookie wide receiver Robert Herron was the 12th Bucs player on the field during Murphy's catch, as revealed later by McCown.

Five-yard penalty. After three more plays, another gut-wrenching end, another introduction to a cold reality.

Bengals 14, Bucs 13.

End the playoff talk, for everyone's sake.

"We've been talking about playoffs for the last however many weeks," Bucs offensive tackle Demar Dotson said. "But we haven't won a football game. We need to talk about winning a football game. You can't go to the playoffs if you're 2-10. At 2-10, you don't need to go to the playoffs. So you've got to win football games, and we're not doing it. So I don't think we deserve the right to talk playoffs."

Dotson is right: Turn out the lights on the dog-and-pony show. "Bucs" and "playoffs" should never be mentioned in the same sentence the rest of the year with serious intentions, the pair of words always an odd couple but now worthy of a split.

Thanks to a result 1,027 miles north, thanks to the New Orleans Saints overcoming themselves to edge the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field, the Bucs are three games out in the division with four to play. Their situation is beyond prayer.

The dream is over, if it was ever alive to begin.

The NFC South's putrid season isn't enough to keep the Bucs in the conversation past Week 13.

The countdown to the NFL draft should begin in full, and Tampa Bay must hit on hope for the future.

"I'll leave it to the mathematicians," McCown said of the Bucs' playoff chances. "Until they tell you you're out, you keep talking about it. That's the way I've learned. And you keep striving for it. And so, that's what we'll do."

Why?

A two-game deficit to a 5-7 division leader is one thing. But a three-game hole is a beast 50 feet tall and 100 feet wide.

The Bucs close against the Detroit Lions (8-4), Carolina Panthers (3-8-1), Green Bay Packers (8-3 entering Sunday) and Saints. The Bucs will be fortunate to win one, maybe two of those games, their best chances to do so coming against their limping division mates. Meanwhile, they should bring gauze and Band-Aids to matchups against the Lions and Packers.

Chances are, the season's final month will include many of the same emotions witnessed Sunday: Frustration, bewilderment, shock. All are too familiar. All are revealing of a team that lacks quality, consistent play and sound coaching.

The Bucs have shown no reason to suggest they'll break from the norm. That's a sad testament to how this fall has developed.

"To me, guys, this game isn't about not running the ball or not passing the ball to certain guys. It was about penalties," Smith said. "This should be the easiest part of winning a game in the NFL -- not continuing to make penalties like that. That's the game."

And because the Bucs can't do the small things right -- they closed with 13 penalties for 94 yards -- they suffer. They look like a 2-10 team, despite racing to a 10-0 lead in the second quarter. They play like one, despite an improving defense that forced Andy Dalton to throw three interceptions. They deserve this fate, despite nearly snatching victory from an opponent who did their best to keep Tampa Bay breathing.

"I'm at a loss for words," Bucs cornerback Johnthan Banks said. "That's been killing us all year -- penalties. We have to be more disciplined as a team. That's been our biggest problem. Today showed exactly why we need to be more disciplined. If we don't make penalties, we can win a game."

But there's always talk but little action. There are always words spoken but little substance shown. There are always reflections but little in the way of meaningful change that leads to wins.

This is no team worthy of playoff talk. Stop the act. McCown is wrong. The mathematicians should save their time.

"This is how 2-10 football teams play," Smith said. "Found a way to lose it at the end. ... When you make dumb, stupid penalties like that throughout the game, it ends up biting you at the end."

That's not how playoff teams perform, even those from a historically bad division. That's not how playoff teams carry themselves, even those who have failed to meet expectations.

At last, the Bucs' postseason discussion has died, drowned by the boos that filled another surreal afternoon.

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

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