The Tampa Bay Buccaneers fell to 6-3 in Week 10, losing 29-19 to the Washington Football Team. This is the second game in a row that the Bucs have lost, after winning six of their first seven.

Tampa still sits atop the NFC South at 6-3, but New Orleans is right behind them at 5-4. The Saints have also won the first matchup against the Buccaneers, so they currently hold the tiebreaker if there was a scenario in which they finish with the same record. Despite a perfect 4-0 record at home, Tampa has struggled on the road, winning only two out of five games.

Here are three takeaways from their poor performance at FedExField, in which Tampa was nearly a 10-point favorite at kickoff:

Brady Turns In A Clunker

Tom Brady has been very hot and cold in 2021. Despite ranking top-three in the NFL in passing yards and leading the league in interceptions, he looks very off at times. On Sunday against Washington, Brady threw two interceptions, including a horrible toss that was picked off by Bobby McCain:

Brady finished the game throwing for only 220 yards on 23/34 attempts. The 41-year-old didn't have much time in the pocket on Sunday either, with the Buccaneers' offensive line having their worst performance of the season. Tampa ranks 27th in the league in rushing yards per game, and only got 51 total between Leonard Fournette and Giovani Bernard in Week 10. Ronald Jones has been a complete non-factor, seeing a limited amount of snaps this season.

Bucs Need Gronk Back

Tampa Bay's offense simply hasn't been the same without their big-play tight end. The Brady to Gronkowski connection opens up the field so much more for Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and Antonio Brown.

Cameron Brate and O.J. Howard hasn't developed enough of a connection with the veteran quarterback in the time Brady's been with the Buccaneers. Gronkowski is Tom's favorite red-zone target, having caught four in as many games. Without the four-time Pro Bowler, Tampa has settled for too many field goals and is suffering because of it.

Defense Can't Come Up With Big Stop Late

The Buccaneers secondary has no answers in the passing right now, and couldn't get off the field when it mattered most. In the 4th quarter, Taylor Heinicke engineered a 19 play, 10:26 minute drive, capped off by an Antonio Gibson touchdown to seal the deal for Washington. The Bucs had multiple opportunities to get off the field on third down and failed at every chance.

To make matters worse, veteran defensive back Richard Sherman suffered a calf strain on Sunday and will now miss a couple weeks of action. The Buccaneers are already weak at corner with Sean Murphy-Bunting on the IR due to an elbow injury that he sustained in Week 1 against Dallas.

Right now, Todd Bowles's unit looks nothing like the defense that shut down Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers, and Patrick Mahomes in the playoffs last season. Although Tampa ranks second in the NFL in rush defense, they've been exposed in the passing game. On third downs, opponents are now converting 42.7% of the time.