TAMPA — The Bucs needed one more stop on third down when defensive tackle Calijah Kancey stretched for Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels in the backfield with just under a minute to play in Sunday’s NFC wild-card game.

“I kind of knew they didn’t want to mess up so they would keep the ball in his hands,” Kancey said. “I just shot the gap. He’s a great athlete. He’s fast. I should’ve had him but I missed him.”

Instead, all Kancey came up with the white rag hanging from Daniels’ waist.

What cruel symbolism. Unable to stop the clock, Zane Gonzalez kicked the winning 37-yard field goal that struck the right upright and went through as time expired, throwing in the towel on the Bucs’ 23-20 loss to the Commanders and their season.

Afterward, pain and pride were forced to share a locker room.

“Right now, it absolutely sucks so it’s disappointing overall because I believe in this team, believe we have the talent and the coaching staff and everybody around us to go far,” Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield said.

Two plays ultimately beat the Bucs on Sunday.

After an inspiring stop on fourth and goal from the Tampa Bay 3-yard line with the score tied at 17 in the fourth quarter, Mayfield fumbled a handoff to receiver Jalen McMillan on a jet sweep and Washington linebacker Bobby Wagner recovered.

Four plays later, Daniels fired a 5-yard touchdown pass to Terry McLaurin to give the Commanders a 20-17 lead.

“It comes back to me, just timing it up correctly,” Mayfield said. “First one all year it happened on and obviously the timing wasn’t great, backed up and the defense had just done a helluva job getting us the ball with another fourth-down stop. It’s unfortunate, but that falls on me.”

Baker Mayfield walks off the field after the Bucs bow out of the playoffs. “It’s disappointing because I really believed in this team,” Mayfield says. “Still do.” [ LUIS SANTANA | Times ]

The Bucs came back down the field with a chance to win. But on third and 1 from the Washington 12-yard line, center Graham Barton snapped the ball too soon, affecting the timing of the ball and running back Bucky Irving was dropped for a 2-yard loss. Instead of retaking the lead, the Bucs were forced to settle on Chase McLaughlin’s tying 32-yard field goal.

Mayfield said he believed Barton snapped the ball because he felt the Commanders were in the neutral zone. Barton said otherwise.

“I wish,” the rookie said. “No. I snapped on the wrong cadence. I was trying to get a call out. Just got to have better discipline there. I’ve got to be able to sit in there and get my calls out. … Fourth quarter of a playoff game, you’ve got to be able to execute moments like that. Definitely disappointed in me on that.”

For an offense that had been humming most of the season and averaging nearly 30 points per game, Sunday represented a huge step backward. It was the fewest points the Bucs scored since losing to the 49ers 23-20 on Nov. 10.

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“It just goes back to being on the same page and everybody moving when he snaps the ball and executing the play but that’s not what happened,” Mayfield said.

“Tonight was a perfect example of offensively taking advantage of what the defense did for us, that fourth-down stop. And then obviously not timing the motion of the jet sweep. So there’s things, not doing all the little things right will come back to beat you in the playoffs.”

There will be a lot of time to analyze the Bucs’ roller-coaster 2024 season.

Fans watch as the Bucs’ season slips away in the final few seconds. [ LUIS SANTANA | Times ]

It was disappointing, for sure. But then you have to consider that the starting defense combined to miss 34 games due to injury. The only players who started every game were Yaya Diaby and 34-year-old Lavonte David.

Offensively, they weren’t much healthier when you consider who was hurt. Bucs starters missed 26 games, including 10 by receiver Chris Godwin, three by receiver Mike Evans and four by McMillan.

Every team has injuries, but the Bucs overcame most of them because of young players who grew up fast. Irving and McMillan, to name a few.

“It’s disappointing because I really believed in this team,” Mayfield said. “Still do. But every year the roster is different. The sad part about it, this group had the makeup to go all the way and unfortunately, we didn’t bring our best stuff tonight and Washington did.”

Four straight NFC South titles is a big accomplishment but grows stale without playoff success. It was only the 2020 season when the Bucs won Super Bowl 55.

“The ceiling is high, but honestly right now, knowing a lot of these guys you’ve become really close with aren’t going to be back, so it’s making sure you say your goodbyes and thank yous. It’s a sad moment,” Barton said. “We really thought we could make a run at this thing.”

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