The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are in freefall after getting blown out by the Los Angeles Rams 34-7 at SoFi Stadium, as Todd Bowles' team has now lost three straight games and four of its last five.
What makes it worse is that quarterback Baker Mayfield suffered an AC joint sprain in his left shoulder at the end of the first half and didn't return to the game.
So backup Teddy Bridgewater was tasked with taking over in the second half, and struggled against the Rams' ferocious pass rush.
And speaking post-game, Teddy was rather honest about where the Buccaneers are right now at 6-5.
“Got to get back to the drawing boards, try to turn some things around,” Bridgewater said. “Coach B [Bowles] talked about it in the past, this team has taken some losses early in the year and found a way to win. Right now, we hit a little wall.
"We lost three games in a row, and we just got to try to figure things out. We're back home next week, and I'm just looking forward to getting back in front of our fans, fixing things, and just raising our level of play.”
More: Buccaneers fans will be love latest Bucky Irving/Chris Godwin updates ahead of Week 13
Have Buccaneers hit a wall?
The injury toll was always going to come home to roost at some point, and maybe Mayfield's injury was the tipping point. Granted, Tampa Bay was already in all sorts of trouble with Mayfield under center, but now it is magnified.
At 6-5, the Buccaneers are barely clinging to the division lead with the Carolina Panthers now closing the gap, and if Baker can't go for the next week or two, Bridgewater will need to keep this ship afloat as best he can.
Bucky Irving is trending to play against the Arizona Cardinals, while Chris Godwin got through his first game back with no trouble, so Teddy could have some weapons back for Week 13.
But make no mistake, the Buccaneers have to snap this three-game skid, and it has to start against the Cardinals.
Tampa Bay might have hit the wall, but now it has to go through it.
More Buccaneers news:
- Rams vs. Buccaneers live score, updates, highlights from NFL 'Sunday Night Football' game
- Is Chris Godwin playing tonight? Why Bucs WR is off to quiet start in Week 12
- Bucky Irving's absence, explained: Bucs star battled injury and off-the-field issue
- When is Bucky Irving coming back? Buccaneers' RB gets positive injury return timeline revealed by ESPN's Adam Schefter