As the clock ticked down to zeros in the fourth quarter of last Thursday’s showdown in Tampa, an exasperated Mike Evans looked on as the ball sailed through the uprights. The 43-yard field goal from the Atlanta Falcons’ kicker, Zane Gonzalez, put the nail in the coffin of his team’s 14-point fourth-quarter comeback, which handed the Bucs their fifth loss in their last six games.

Evans quickly took to the tunnel and headed for his squad’s locker room, visibly upset with how his first game back from injury had ended. Usually stoic, silent and respectful, he saw his frustration boil over, which gave members of the media a quip to run with.

“It’s 3rd and 28!” he repeated to himself as he stormed through the tunnel. “It’s 3rd and 28!”

Evans was referring to the situation the Bucs’ defense was facing during the Falcons’ game-winning drive. With just over a minute left on the game clock, Atlanta’s offense stalled momentarily at its own 29 yard line. The score read 28-26 in favor of Tampa, and needing to reach the Tampa Bay 33 for a first down, the Falcons had just two downs to travel 28 yards and stay alive in the game.

With two passes—a 14-yarder and a 21-yarder—the Falcons did just that.

There is no pass rush. There is no ability to cover the middle of the field. There is no discipline.

Now tied for the NFC South lead with the Carolina Panthers—who had a stinker of their own Sunday, losing to the New Orleans Saints—the Bucs still have a good-to-fair shot to make it to the NFL Playoffs. But with this defense, they might not even want to.

My Hottest Take: The Bucs’ Pass Rush Is The Team’s Biggest Blemish

Let’s start with the pass rush, which has been the issue most have harped on throughout the season.

During the Bucs’ six-week slide, they have recorded a grand total of eight sacks—just over one per game—which is tied for the third-least in the NFL. In last Thursday’s loss to the Falcons, with 37-year-old, largely immobile quarterback Kirk Cousins taking the snaps for Atlanta, the Bucs recorded just one sack.

Somehow, despite some relatively large names in the Bucs’ defensive line rotation (Haason Reddick, Vita Vea, Yaya Diaby), Tampa refuses to be able to get pressure with four players. Most plays, Vea eats up a double-team, which should theoretically leave lanes for the other three to pursue the quarterback. But try as they might, nobody seems to be able to find the backfield until the ball is already gone.

To mitigate this glaring issue, head coach and ‘defensive guru’ Todd Bowles has resorted to throwing a stale barrage of zone blitzes at opposing defenses. Typically, these blitzes vacate a large portion of the space between the hashes, which allows opposing quarterbacks to dump four-yard passes into the void for 12-yard gains. You can ask Kirk Cousins (373 yds, three TDs) and Kyle Pitts (11 rec, 166 yds, three TDs) how difficult Bowles’ defensive scheme was to attack on Thursday.

The issues the Bucs have rushing the passer are not the only factors that contribute to their struggles in the middle of the field. We’ll get to that next.

What You Need To Know: The Fans Love You, Lavonte, But It Might Be Time

The newest generation of Bucs fans holds linebacker Lavonte David in high regard. He captained the Tampa Bay defensive unit for the team's recent Super Bowl, and he should likely be a Hall-of-Famer. But he’s also 35. And for the modern National Football League, that is ancient—especially for a linebacker.

PFF Grades are typically something that should get limited credence, but they are a metric that attempts to quantify a player’s effectiveness on the field. In 2022, David graded out at an astonishing 84.1—a top-three linebacker in the NFL, by that measurement. That grade included an 88.4 coverage grade, which is what David has been known for throughout large portions of his career.

Oh, how times have changed.

Last year, David fell to a 68.7 overall, including a dismal sub-60 coverage grade. It was a historically bad season for him. This year, it has gotten worse. He now sits at a 53.3 overall grade, which encompasses his 46.3 coverage grade. He is not in the top 45 among graded linebackers in any PFF category.

He looks old.

That’s not a knock on his career, and Bucs fans across the board likely agree that David is among a select group of some of the most loved guys to ever don the red and pewter. Maybe it isn’t age—maybe it’s scheme, a different training regimen, the players around him, etc. But the proof is in the pudding. His tape has been tough to watch, and the sample size is big enough to say the shift is not a fluke.

On Thursday, David—like every other linebacker on the roster—was outpaced by safety Antoine Winfield Jr. for the team lead in tackles. While that stat could mean Winfield had a fantastic game, the film says otherwise. Winfield was on clean-up duty after a slew of missed tackles and missed assignments on the first and second levels.

Moving Forward: Panthers in the Crosshairs

If ever there was a time for an abysmal defensive unit to prove something, it is now. The Bucs officially have their backs against the wall, likely needing two wins in their next three games to seal the division and capture a playoff berth. They will head north to Charlotte for a date with the Carolina Panthers—led by ex-Tampa OC Dave Canales—on Sunday. Canales worked alongside Bowles, and the two of them should have some level of familiarity with each other’s systems.

Bowles’ defense now ranks as a bottom-10 unit in the league in total yards allowed and total points allowed. By all accounts, the product on that side of the ball has been atrocious. With Bowles’ seat getting consistently hotter, all the stops should be pulled out to get a road win this Sunday. For the sake of Bowles’ job, he better empty the playbook.