Buccaneers’ ‘embarrassing’ loss to Bengals draws Dick Vitale’s ire: ‘Pathetic’

Legendary broadcaster Dick Vitale didn’t mince his words after watching the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.

Tom Brady and the Bucs were cruising with a 17-3 lead against the Cincinnati Bengals going into halftime. Things would only go downhill from there, however, as the Bengals reeled off 31 straight points to open the second half en route to a 34-23 win.

The subpar performance was, in part, thanks to Tampa Bay committing four turnovers in the third quarter, a dubious accomplishment Vitale could not forgive.

“An embarrassing display of NFL football in the second half by the Buccaneers 4 turnovers in the 3rd period is pathetic,” Vitale wrote on Twitter. “Down 34-17 after leading 17-3 at half. Bengals roll 31-0 after halftime. Humiliated 2 weeks in a row!”

The humiliating loss comes right after the Buccaneers were trampled 35-7 by the San Francisco 49ers and third string quarterback Brock Purdy. The typically powerful defense of the Bucs has been absent while the offense is clearly struggling.

Despite the poor performances, Brady is still putting up decent numbers on the season, passing for 3,987 yards and 20 touchdowns with 7 interceptions. The veteran quarterback is third in the NFL in passing yards while also being in the bottom half for interceptions thrown.

While they continue to be embarrassed, the Buccaneers still remain in first place in the NFC South, even with a 6-8 record. They remain ahead of the Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons who are all tied at 5-9. It’s possible that a sub-.500 team will sneak into the playoffs once again this year.

The Buccaneers will take on the 4-10 Cardinals on “Sunday Night Football” on Christmas.