Josh McCown got emotional after another Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeat in what looks like a disastrous season.
“As you get older, the opportunities are less and less no matter if you’re a franchise quarterback or not,” McCown said after the Bucs dropped to 1-8 Sunday following a 27-17 loss to the Falcons.
“When you’re 35 years old you know that the clock is ticking. You don’t want to let these moments slip away,” he said. “I think that’s why it hurts because it got away.”
The Falcons won for the first time since embarrassing their NFC South rivals 56-14 on Sept. 18, a game in which the Bucs lost McCown to a thumb injury.
McCown returned to Tampa Bay’s starting lineup for first time since that loss, throwing for 301 yards and two TDs. His 1-yard scoring pass to Austin Seferian-Jenkins put the Bucs ahead 17-16 early in the fourth quarter. But Ryan drove the Falcons back into the lead, throwing a 5-yard touchdown pass to Roddy White and a two-point conversion to Harry Douglas.
“You have two choices,” said McCown, occasionally pausing while speaking with reporters. “You can curl up in a ball and hide and hope that it goes away and it’s over or you can do something about it. With our actions, not our words. With the way that we work, that will be the measure of us.”
McCown completed 27 of 43 passes, threw a pair of interceptions in the final two minutes and was sacked four times. Rookie Mike Evans had a breakout game for the second consecutive week with seven receptions for 125 yards, including a 22-yard TD catch that gives him five in his past five games.
“We realize what our record is … it’s a broken record really,” Bucs coach Lovie Smith said. “Losses, of course, piling up. Too many. There’s a lot of good things we did, but critical situations we didn’t come through.”
Dwight Lowery’s end-zone interception stopped a Tampa Bay drive that reached the Atlanta 4 with 1:49 remaining. Josh Wilson picked McCown’s final pass of the day.
Bucs notes: Evans was the seventh pick in the draft after being Johnny Manziel's favorite target at Texas A&M. He's caught at least four passes in each of the eight games he's played. Vincent Jackson had eight receptions for 75 yards for Tampa Bay. … Running back Doug Martin (ankle) and cornerback Alterraun Verner (hamstring) were inactive. … The Buccaneers had 10 penalties for 79 yards. … Linebacker Lavonte David had 14 tackles.
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