ATLANTA — The Bucs and coach Todd Bowles found themselves in a no-win situation Sunday.
Having already been crowned NFC South champs and locked into the No. 4 seed, they had little to gain and very much to lose the longer they kept quarterback Tom Brady and other starters in an otherwise meaningless game against the Falcons.
Brady left the game after only five series and Tampa Bay led by a touchdown, 17-10, at halftime.
But the Bucs were outscored 20-0 after pulling many of their starters in the second half and lost 30-17.
The Bucs completed the regular season 8-9 and joined teams such as the 2010 Seahawks, 2014 Panthers and the 2020 Washington Football Team to reach the playoffs in a non-strike year with a losing record.
Of course, all that matters is what Tampa Bay does when it hosts either the Cowboys or Eagles in the NFC wild-card game.
It’s the first time Brady finished a season he started with a losing record. He threw only four passes as a rookie in 2000 when the Patriots went 5-11.
The Bucs led 17-10 after Blaine Gabbert relieved Brady and threw a 3-yard TD pass to Russell Gage late in the second quarter.
But that lead didn’t come without an unsettling — and perhaps unnecessary — list of injuries.
Brady played only five series, going 13 of 17 passing for 84 yards, including an 8-yard touchdown pass to tight end Kyle Rudolph. Rudolph later left the game with a knee injury.
Gabbert entered the game with four minutes to play in the first half when linebacker Devin White recovered a fumble by Falcons rookie quarterback Desmond Ridder, who saw a pass slip out of his hand.
He immediately fired a 3-yard touchdown pass to Gage, who took a hard landing in the end zone and was injured.
But the worst injury loss may have been to center Robert Hainsey, who left the game in the first quarter and was replaced by guard Nick Leverett.
Receiver Mike Evans left the game early in the first quarter with an illness. Both running backs Rachaad White (four carries, 15 yards) and Leonard Fournette (1 catch, 4 yards) were out of the game in the second quarter and gave away to Ke’Shawn Vaughn and Giovani Bernard.
The Bucs had a bunch of starters who were inactive for Sunday’s game, a list that included tackle Donovan Smith, receiver Julio Jones, cornerback Carlton Davis, defensive tackle Vita Vea, safety Mike Edwards, outside linebacker Carl Nassib and safety Logan Ryan. Tackle Tristan Wirfs was active but didn’t play as a precaution.
Defensively, the Bucs stuck with their starters in the first half.
