CLEVELAND — Thirty-two seconds was all that stood between the Bucs and their third straight win. One play on fourth down to walk away from FirstEnergy Stadium with an ugly but urgent win over the Browns.
But the Bucs defense has struggled closing out games this season and it happened again Sunday.
Jacoby Brissett threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to David Njoku as the fourth quarter wound down, then connected with Amari Cooper for 45 yards in overtime to the Tampa Bay 3-yard line.
Two plays later, Nick Chubb scored a touchdown on a 3-yard run with 19 seconds remaining as the Browns beat the Bucs 23-17. Chubb rushed for 116 yards.
The loss dropped the Bucs to 5-6 overall and snapped a two-game winning streak.
The Bucs were clinging to a seven-point lead when Cleveland took over at the Tampa Bay 46 with just over two minutes to play. The Browns tied the score when Njoku made a one-handed scoring catch with linebacker Devin White draped all over him.
Brady completed a 26-yard pass to Julio Jones at the Cleveland 48 with 8 seconds remaining in regulation, but his Hail Mary attempt fell incomplete to send the game into overtime.
The Bucs won the coin toss and got the ball first in overtime. Brady moved the Bucs to the Cleveland 43 and appeared to have completed a shovel pass to Rachaad White for a first down. But a hands to the face penalty on offensive lineman Donovan Smith essentially ended the drive.
Things got much worse for the Bucs when All-Pro right tackle Tristan Wirfs sustained a significant injury to his left leg and had to be carted off the field. Brady was sacked on the next play by Myles Garrett.
