Sloppy Bucs beat themselves once again.

The Buccaneers lost to the Tennessee Titans, 23-17.

There was a lot about the game on Sunday that showed promise. Legarrette Blount had another fine day, and the defense had some takeaways and pressure. But the Bucs would once again beat themselves with missed opportunities, penalties, and turnovers of their own.

Yes, the field was wet and sloppy, and so some errors are bound to be made. The Bucs certainly took advantage of similar mistakes by the Titans. But Tampa Bay continued to shoot itself in the foot.

What really represents this game as a whole was a particular Bucs drive. Blount had been fed the ball and was breaking off seemingly 10 yards with every touch. The Bucs were in a position to add to their 7 point lead, and momentum was in their favor. But then Kellen Winslow got a penalty for holding, setting the team back 10 yards, followed by a Jeremy Zuttah false start to tack on 5 more. What had once been a potential touchdown drive quickly turned into a punt from midfield. The Bucs would not score again, and a 6-point Titans win off of a drive late in the 4th quarter really stings.

Josh Freeman continued to be inaccurate and made more poor decisions, seemingly forcing to ball while ignoring defenders in the area at times. As good as Freeman was last year at controling the ball, he now has 16 interceptions this year, second most in the NFL. And many are in just horrible situations to throw a pick in, including several on passes to the endzone and a few picks late in the 4th.

The run defense was gashed again, this time by Chris Johnson, who has arguably been the biggest dissapointment in the NFL this year (at least for fantasy owners). The Bucs' drop into mediocrity began a few years ago on MNF against the Panthers, where they absolutely could not stop the run. Those Bucs lost 4 straight to somehow miss the playoffs, resulting in Jon Gruden's firing and the release of several veterans. Here, 3 years later, the youth movement has seemingly done nothing to improve this, even with the injury of Geral McCoy.

After a 4-2 start, the Bucs sit at 4-7 and playoff hopes are all but extinguished. And if they continue to make stupid mistakes, they may not win again.