Just one of those games: Bucs fall to Lions 23-16

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers dominated much of the game against the Detroit Lions--unfortunately they dominated in the category of key miscues, losing two fumbles (including one inside the Detroit 5 yard line), suffering a blocked punt, and missing a medium-range field goal.

And beyond that, the game featured some of the very worst officiating I've seen all year. The officials blew a review call, ruling an incomplete pass when Jeff Garcia threw the ball away from the line of scrimmage. They allowed Detroit two free late hits, one from behind on Michael Clayton (who left the game with an injury on the play) and one out of bounds on B. J. Askew. The officials allowed Tampa Bay to go offsides on two kickoffs (in my opinion), and allowed Detroit to line up in the neutral zone on a number of occasions.

This is my least favorite type of game, because there's no way to really tell which team would win if the officials weren't busy screwing things up the whole time.

Bottom line: The Bucs made the types of mistakes you can't make playing on the road, and they'll reap the consequences.

Of note, Jeff Garcia made one of the few bad judgments he's made along the course of the year, throwing the ball away on a 2 point conversion. The absolute worst thing that can happen is one point for the other team on an interception returned the other way. If anybody is remotely open you give the guy a shot at making the play.

Props to the Bucs for making it close at the end, and props to the Lions for their key drive after recovering the fumble deep in their own end. That was a key to their victory on top of Buccaneers mistakes.

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