The recipe for defeat was a familiar one for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, as a plethora of mistakes and missed opportunities brought an end to their two-game winning streak with a 25-12 road loss against the Indianapolis Colts.
Tampa Bay dropped to 5-6 on the season, failing to take advantage of another Atlanta Falcons loss to gain ground in the NFC playoff race.
The Bucs came into the game as the NFL’s most penalized team, and they lived up to that reputation. Head coach Lovie Smith’s crew was flagged 12 times for 95 yards, with many of the infractions coming in key moments that had a direct impact on the scoreboard.