The Buccaneers had a chance to gain some ground in the NFC South, but couldn’t make it happen in Sunday’s game against the Colts.
Indianapolis came away with a 27-20 with some strong play in the fourth quarter.
Up 20-17 after Mike Evans’ second touchdown of the game, the Colts had fourth-and-inches at the Tampa Bay 49 with 9:11 left in the fourth quarter when Gardner Minshew hit tight end Mo Alie-Cox for a 30-yard gain down to the Tampa Bay 19. The Bucs were selling out for the run and Alie-Cox slipped past the defense to get wide open down the seam for a big gain.
A couple of plays later, Jonathan Taylor ran it in for a 1-yard touchdown to make the sore 27-17 with 7:30 left on the clock.
The Bucs settled for a 24-yard field goal to make the score 27-20 with 4:10 left and got the ball back with 2:21 left and three timeouts. But Baker Mayfield was strip-sacked by Samson Ebukam on third-and-4 with 1:36 left in the game, with defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo picking up the loose ball.
Jonathan Taylor took a handoff 8 yards for a first down on Indy’s ensuing drive to ice the victory.
Taylor ended the game with 91 yards rushing and two touchdowns, averaging 6.1 yards per carry. Zack Moss also averaged 6.9 yards per carry, recording 55 yards.
Minshew finished 24-of-41 for 251 yards with an interception. He could’ve had another, but it was dropped.
Overall, Indianapolis had 26 first downs and 394 yards of offense. Michael Pittman caught 10 passes for 107 yards.
On the other side, Mayfield was 20-of-30 for 199 yards with two touchdowns, a pick and a lost fumble. Rachaad White had 15 carries for 100 yards while Evans ended the contest with six catches for 70 yards with two TDs.
Now at 4-7, the Buccaneers will come home to play the Panthers next Sunday.
The 6-5 Colts stay in the thick of things in the AFC playoff chase and will play the division-rival Titans on the road next week.