3 Up, 3 Down in Bucs' Heartbreaking OT Loss To Chiefs

See who shined and who faltered in the Bucs 30-24 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Nov 4, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Cade Otton (88) is tackled by Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Tershawn Wharton (98) during the second half at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images / Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

It was back and forth between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Kansas City Chiefs, with the road team taking the game all the way into overtime. Unfortunately, the Bucs lost the coin toss and that was all she wrote after letting Patrick Mahomes and the offense march 70 yards down the field to win the game on a two-yard scoring plunge by Kareem Hunt. Controversy surrounds the decision by Todd Bowles to not go for the two-point conversion after the Bucs put together a scoring drive in the final seconds of the game, tempting the fate of overtime on the road as significant underdogs.

However, it was an encouraging loss if there ever is one that the Bucs hung with the undefeated defending Super Bowl champions on the road down so many of their key playmakers, including their top three wide receivers. there were plenty of mistakes on the rainy Monday night but also some positives to take away as well. Here are who shined and who faltered in the Bucs 30-24 loss to the Chiefs.

Three Up

NT Vita Vea

Vita Vea was a force on Monday Night Football against the Chiefs, finishing with 10 tackles and two sacks. His first sack came on the opening drive. The loss of 10 yards knocked the Chiefs out of field goal range, forcing them to punt. His second sack came on the Chiefs' first possession of the second quarter for a loss of three yards.

TE Cade Otton

Cade Otton was once again called upon to be the guy with Chris Godwin lost for the season and Mike Evans sidelined until at least after the bye week, and he delivered. Otton had the Bucs' go-ahead touchdown in the third quarter and finished the game with eight receptions on 11 targets for 77 yards and a score.

DL Calijah Kancey

Double trouble. The duo of Vea and Kancey ate on Monday Night Football. Not to be outdone by Vea's two sacks, Kancey notched two of his own. His first sack came on a key third down to end the first half for the Chiefs. Kancey's second sack was on Kansas City's first drive of the second half. In total Kancey two sacks totaled a loss of 19 yards and ended two drives for the Chiefs offense.

Three Down

CB Josh Hayes

Woof. Where to start? Hayes struggled in coverage all night and it started early. He nearly allowed a deep touchdown to rookie wideout Xavier Worthy had Worthy not stepped out of bounds. He allowed several first down catches including a first down to former Bucs Justin Watson in the second quarter that went for 12 yards. He did have good coverage on Deandre Hopkins on his 35-yard catch but it was just an amazing catch by the veteran wide receiver.

Two plays later, Hayes was on the coverage on Chiefs go-ahead touchdown to Hopkins from one yard out, leaving him wide open in the back of end zone. He made up for it on a fumble recovery but the Bucs would score no points from it. After leaving the game with cramps he came back and was on the coverage end of Hopkin's second touchdown of the night in the fourth quarter on a five-yard scoring grab and then missed a big tackle on Hopkins in overtime to allow him to gain 15 yards and enter deeper into Bucs territory.

Third Down Defense

The Bucs came into this game ranked 19th in third down conversion rate, while the Chiefs came in with the second-best conversion rate in the NFL. It showed. Mahomes tore the Bucs defense apart on the pivotal down, going 10-10 passing with three touchdowns. As a team, the Chiefs went 12-18 on third down on a night where the Bucs defense had no answers.

Middle Of The Field Defense

The Bucs' middle-of-the-field struggles are fully on record and things weren't much better on Monday Night Football against the Chiefs. Mahomes picked apart the defense when targeting the middle of the field. The Kanas City quarterback completed 10 passes across the problematic area for the Bucs for 85 yards, three first downs and a score. Todd Bowles tried to get linebackers J.J. Russell and Vi Jones more involved in the rotation but the result was the same. If the Bucs look for help prior to the trade deadline inside linebacker needs to be the priority. At least the Bucs know they will be getting Dean back soon — there's no hope on the horizon at linebacker.

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