TAMPA, Fla. – Few things could be as demoralizing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as surrendering a 19-play touchdown drive at the end of a game that took more than 10 minutes off of the clock to make it a two-score game against a two-win team.

Not only that, the Washington Football Team (3-6) made sure that quarterback Tom Brady and the Buccaneers (6-3) didn't have a chance on the final drive to go down the field and win it.

Although there was no guarantee, even with Brady's track record, that a comeback drive would have even happened. Especially after he had already thrown two interceptions in the first quarter, and nearly a third that bounced off wide receiver Chris Godwin’s foot, in the 29-19 loss.

Week 10 marked the Bucs’ second loss in a row and just the second time in Brady’s tenure as a Buccaneer that they’ve lost two straight. Coach Bruce Arians said after the game: “We’ve got some soul-searching to do.”

Outside linebacker Shaq Barrett echoed that this week with, “We’ve got to look ourselves in the mirror.”

What’s happened to the defending Super Bowl champions and how do they correct it in a hurry with the New York Giants coming to town for Monday Night Football, a team the Bucs narrowly defeated last season 25-23 also in primetime? Injuries and penalties have been the story through the first half of the season. But there’s more.

Teams are taking away their deep ball

Teams like Washington have taken away the Bucs’ deep balls by rushing only three or four and dropping the rest into coverage.

Washington rushed three or four defenders on 21 of 43 dropbacks last week, which is why Brady attempted just one pass of 20 or more yards, while the New Orleans Saints did it on 33 of 43 dropbacks in the previous loss, and the Los Angeles Rams, the other team to beat Tampa (Week 3), did it on 45 of 60 plays.

The Giants, who rushed the Bucs with four or fewer defenders on 35 of 42 dropbacks last season, will most likely try to do this too.

They’ve taken away the deep balls, hurting guys like Mike Evans -- although Evans did manage to haul in a 40-yard touchdown -- but what's also hurting the Bucs is not having wide receivers like Antonio Brown, who is one of the most versatile route-runners in the league and is still one of the best at making defenders miss because of his stop-and-go ability.

It’s forced players like rookie wideout Jaelon Darden, whom the coaching staff has been very high on, to step into shoes he may not be totally ready to fill – with a short pass over the middle bouncing out of his hands on second-and-10 and landing in the hands of William Jackson. That interception led to a 28-yard field goal by Washington kicker Joey Slye.

They also haven’t had the same level of production at tight end without Rob Gronkowski. Cameron Brate managed one catch for six yards at Washington, and he’s been targeted six times in the past two games but has mustered just three catches for 21 yards.

“I think the other guys stepped up, but you take two great players out, possible Hall of Famers, yeah, you're going to miss them,” Arians said.

Making matters worse: Evans – now the franchise leader in not only receptions and touchdown receptions but also tied for the most touchdowns with Mike Alstott -- has only had four receptions over the past two games. He managed five catches for 55 yards to go along with his touchdown against the Giants last season though.

“When you have Mike [Evans], Chris [Godwin] and [Brown], you've got three No. 1s," Arians said. "That's tough to defend. Right now, the third guy has to win for us."

They’re not winning third down on defense

This one is interesting, because against Washington, the Bucs sacked quarterback Taylor Heinicke five times, with eight quarterback hits and 11 tackles for a loss. For most teams, including this one, that’s a good day at the office. But that means nothing when cornerback Jamel Dean fails to tackle J.D. McKissic on third-and-14.

The past two games, the Bucs have surrendered a 48.5% conversion rate on third down – third most in the league. In Weeks 1-7, they were 40.5% in that department – 17th in the league. The pressure is there, but it’s not coming on third down. The Bucs have 22 sacks on the season, averaging 2.44 per game, which is 10th best in the league. But on third down, they have just four sacks, averaging 0.44 per game, 29th in the league.

“I wish those sacks came on third down,” outside linebackers coach Larry Foote said. “We would have been off the field. So, that’s a point of emphasis to make sure on third down we get off the field, and getting sacks is a good way.”

Looking specifically at pass rush win rates, the Bucs are winning on all three downs 47.3% of the time – fifth best in the league. But on third down specifically, they’re winning 50% of the time, which may sound better because it is a higher number, but it’s actually 14th in the league. For perspective, the Rams are winning in both categories – 53.7% on all three downs and 61.5% on third down. Getting this corrected will be paramount given the state of the Bucs’ ailing secondary with so many injuries.

“At the end of the day, 19 plays – you have to be able to get off the field with that type of talent,” Foote said. “Those guys have to come together, and it’s a nice little punch in the gut. I know those guys are going to respond.”

They’ve needed to change their mental approach

Complacency has never been the worry here. Arians said last week that he “never had to ask his team to work hard.” Players like Brady and linebackers Devin White and Lavonte David simply won’t allow it. But Arians expressed concern that his team almost had too good of a week of practice last week. They thought they could merely show up Sunday and not flip the necessary switch needed to win.

“You've got to be ready to play on game day, and there were some that weren't playing as fast they could or have [in the past],” Arians said. “Now, they thought they were. [There is a] big [difference] about thinking you're playing fast or really actually playing fast. For those [first] eight minutes, we were playing really fast. So yeah, it's something you've got to see yourself do and keep learning from it, and hopefully we'll make those corrections this week."

When asked if he felt some players were lacking in passion at Washington, he said, “Totally.”

“We most definitely had a great week of practice, and we went out there and probably thought it was going to continue over, but we still had to put the work in by just focusing and executing everything,” Barrett said. "We didn’t do that at all. That’s why we’re on a two-game slide right now, but with the leadership we have and the coaches that we have, it should and will end right here. We’re going to go back to work through everything like we’re supposed to and come out and try to take care of business on Monday.”

Barrett believes this is a team still capable of winning another championship, but they can’t just expect that magical late-season turnaround to happen the way it did last season -- when they went into the bye week, won four straight to close out the regular season and exploded into the playoffs.

“There’s no doubt in my mind, but we have to put the work in,” Barrett said. “It’s not just going to happen because we did it last year. It’s a different team, different circumstances and different everything this year, so we have to put that work in. We know everything that’s still in front of us. It’s not going to be just given to us.

“We have to take the coaching and put it on the field and execute everything. We have to execute because it’s not going to be given to us at all. After being Super Bowl champs last year, every team is going to give you their best week-in and week-out, and we have to prepare for that.”

What’s concerning about the Giants

What’s most concerning about the Giants this week is that they exploited the Bucs’ aggression last season by getting defenders out of position.

They also picked on Dean a lot. Cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting’s status for Sunday is still up in the air, but they have few options, given Dee Delaney’s status in the concussion protocol and Richard Sherman being placed on injured reserve. Currently the only two healthy cornerbacks the Bucs have on the active roster are Dean and nickelback Ross Cockrell.

Arians' comments after that game also echoed what he said after the Washington loss: “We didn’t find energy fast enough. We got hit in the mouth.”

The Bucs' interior defensive line also got hammered in the run game – typically the Bucs’ strength – and they could be looking more vulnerable this week without defensive tackle Vita Vea and with the return of Giants running back Saquon Barkley.