The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, everyone’s trendy preseason favorite for the surging performance that the Philadelphia Eagles are actually accomplishing, continue to flounder, and a divisional matchup against the New Orleans Saints turned from comical to ugly on Sunday.

Bucs QB Jameis Winston hyped up Tampa Bay with a bizarre speech that included the instant-classic line “Who wants to eat a W?” Unfortunately for Winston, W wasn’t on the menu for Tampa Bay.

Midway through the game, Saints defensive end Alex Okafor slammed Winston to the Superdome turf, and Winston left the game. Coming in for Tampa Bay would be longtime Jets quarterback/beard Ryan Fitzpatrick. Fitz’s first completion went to rookie O.J. Howard … who promptly turned the ball back over to New Orleans, which scored on the next play to go up 27 points.

Winston left the game after going seven of 13 for 67 yards, taking two sacks. He used his time on the sideline to taunt Saints defensive back Marshon Lattimore and help instigate a fight. After a 30-10 loss to the Saints, a surprisingly dark season for Tampa Bay turned even darker.

____
Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports and the author of EARNHARDT NATION, on sale now at Amazon or wherever books are sold. Contact him at jay.busbee@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter or on Facebook.