BUCS BUNGLE PLAYOFF BID

Tampa Bay's playoff chances were already down to slim and none. Slim left town Sunday night.

The Buccaneers (5-7) floundered their way to a 17-10 loss at the hands of the Jacksonville Jaguars in an abysmal performance marred by penalties and a sputtering offense dying a slow, painful death. The loss to Jacksonville (3-9) was especially painful because barring a miracle, the Bucs have been statistically eliminated from competition for the NFC Wild Card playoff slot. The defending Super Bowl champions spent the first 10 weeks of the season digging themselves a hole that even formidable defenders Ronde Barber, John Lynch, Simeon Rice and Warren Sapp could not climb out of.

Tampa Bay posted an anemic 40 yards of offense in the first quarter, but sprang to life early in the second. The Bucs had knotted it up at 10 points apiece at halftime, but a Jaguars touchdown midway through the fourth quarter proved to be the nail in Tampa's coffin. Ronde Barber picked off a wobbly Byron Leftwich pass with 3:09 remaining, but a Jacksonville challenge and subsequent reversal of the original call allowed the Jags to sit on the ball and end the Bucs' playoff hopes.

As a former Bay Area native, this blog is a diehard Bucs fan. This season has been a tremendous disappointment, because the seemingly superhuman defense met its kryptonite: old age. The Bucs have fallen to sixth-best in terms of defense, and even that estimation is generous. Unfortunately, this is not the same championship-caliber team it was just six short months ago.

Better luck next year.