The Tampa Bay Buccaneers reject the notion that they're the same old Bucs.Despite dropping their debut under coach Bruce Arians in a manner that's become all too familiar during the NFL's second-longest playoff drought Color Rush Byron Cowart Jersey , the mistake-prone team showed signs of progress in some key areas during a 14-point loss to the San Francisco 49ers, including development of a running game capable of making Jameis Winston's job easier.The fifth-year pro became the franchise's career passing leader, but also undermined the team's chances of winning by throwing three interceptions — two of which were returned for touchdowns.The Bucs also lost a fumble, had a punt blocked and were penalized eight times for 87 yards, including a pair of holding calls that nullified two touchdowns in the first half."After watching the tape, it was obvious the penalties were probably the biggest thing in the game, other than the turnovers," Arians said Monday.Tight end Cameron Brate, who was on the receiving end of both TD passes that were called back, resisted the temptation to attribute the mistakes to growing pains in a new offensive system."We thought we had a really good training camp," Brate said. "We won some games there in the preseason, kind of got a blueprint for winning games Youth Byron Cowart Jersey , but it just kind of unraveled for us (Sunday)."WHAT'S WORKINGGetting the running game going is a big part of Arians' plan to help the Bucs become relevant again. Tampa Bay had the fifth-ranked rushing attack during Winston's rookie year in 2015, when the Bucs won six games. Ground production has declined sharply since then (24th in 2016, 27th in 2017, 29th in 2018).With second-year RB Ronald Jones II leading the way, the Bucs averaged 4.7 yards per carry on the way to gaining 121 yards on 26 attempts against the 49ers. That not only puts them on pace to have their best running attack since they averaged 135.1 per game four years ago, but also figures to ease some of the burden on Winston to carry the offense."I think all quarterbacks are the same unless you're Tom Brady," Arians said. "You've got to run the ball and stay balanced."Tampa Bay averaged 95.2 yards per game rushing last season, the 11th consecutive year the team failed to make the playoffs.WHAT NEEDS HELPThe offensive line remains a concern. While there's reason to be encouraged by the way the team ran the ball against San Francisco, pass protection was suspect during the preseason and again in Sunday's opener.The 49ers hit Winston five times and finished with three sacks. The pass rush was also a factor in the quarterback forcing a throw on an intended screen pass that was intercepted and returned for the clinching TD.STOCK UPJones, a second-round draft pick who was disappointing in limited playing time as a rookie in 2018, carried a career-best 13 times for 75 yards against the 49ers. A year ago he was inactive for seven games and averaged just 1.9 yards per attempt, finishing with 44 yards on 23 carries with one touchdown."That's something we can really build off of Womens Byron Cowart Jersey ," Arians said."Definitely the coaches are showing more belief in me. ... I've just got to make the most of it," Jones said.STOCK DOWNTE O.J. Howard had four receptions for 32 yards, but did not have a stellar opener. He fumbled after a 10-yard reception to the San Francisco 9, costing the Bucs an opportunity to kick a field goal. He also had a pass skip off his hands on the first of Winston's three interceptions.INJUREDBucs didn't report any significant injuries during the opener. WR Mike Evans played the entire game, despite being slowed by a flu bug. Same for rookie LB Devin White, who Arians said has tonsillitis. White, Howard (ankle), Jones (toe), DT Rakeem Nunez-Roches (finger) and WR Bobo Wilson (ankle) all practiced Monday.KEY NUMBERFour. Days between the opener and a road test at Carolina on Thursday night.NEXT STEPSArians had a simple message for players when the team reassembled Monday to begin preparation for the Panthers.The opener's over. Move on."Learn from what you did, get it corrected," Arians said. "And you get it corrected, the wins will start happening." KANSAS CITY Authentic Byron Cowart Jersey , Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes struggled in the first half and dazzled in the second Sunday night.Nobody knows how he might have fared in overtime.The Chiefs’ young All-Pro threw for 295 yards and three touchdowns against New England, almost all of it after the break, only to watch the extra session from the bench. The Patriots won the coin toss and never gave him a chance, scoring on the only possession they needed to escape with a 37-31 victory in the first AFC championship game ever played at Arrowhead Stadium.“I thought if we got the chance we’d score,” said Mahomes, who instead praised the Patriots’ Tom Brady for converting a trio of third-and-10s to give Rex Burkhead a chance to score the winning TD.“He had a great drive,” Mahomes said. “Big moments, guys made big catches for him.”Mahomes had plenty of big moments in his own right.After a dismal first half in which he was 4 of 8 for 65 yards and three sacks, Mahomes caught fire in the third quarter. He needed just four plays to find Travis Kelce for a touchdown that trimmed a 14-0 deficit in half, then kept slinging the ball in what became a back-and-forth fourth quarter.The Patriots scored two touchdowns. The Chiefs managed three.Mahomes was behind it all, shredding a Patriots defense that had played reasonably well down the stretch this season. He hit Damien Williams with a short TD flip to get within 17-14 early in the fourth quarter, then found his elusive running back again with a 23-yard completion that gave Kansas City its first lead at 21-17 with 7:45 remaining in the game.“They blitzed about every down White Drew Bledsoe Jerseys , played man coverage, and they were able to get home a little bit on some of their games,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “We made a few adjustments at halftime, should have done that earlier — that’s my responsibility. But I’m proud of the way the guys battled back.”But the Patriots kept battling, too.Brady led them the other way, and Sony Michel scored from 10 yards on fourth down, only for the Chiefs’ mop-haired QB to answer with a 38-yard pass to Sammy Watkins that set up Williams’ TD run.Back came the Patriots, who in their eighth consecutive conference championship game showed no sign of nerves. They caught a break when an interception was wiped out by an offside call, and Burkhead’s TD run with 39 seconds left appeared to have given New England a 31-28 victory.Then again, Mahomes long ago proved that 39 seconds can last an eternity.He immediately found running back Spencer Ware for 21 yards, the only meaningful play the backup running back made all game. Then, Mahomes hit Demarcus Robinson for 39 yards to the Patriots 21 with 16 seconds left Drew Bledsoe Jerseys 2019 , giving the Chiefs — without any timeouts — one shot at the end zone.Mahomes wound up throwing it away, and Harrison Butker’s 39-yard field goal forced overtime.By that point the Patriots knew full well the best way to stop Mahomes was to keep him on the bench. So their confidence no doubt soared when they won the coin toss for overtime, and Brady took advantage of the opportunity by finding Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski on their march downfield.Mahomes could only look on as the Patriots ended his dream season.“They challenged us,” he said. “They came up and played man defense. Not a lot of teams did that this year. The first half we struggled, we couldn’t make much happen. The second half we were up to the challenge, we found ways to win one-on-one matchups.“We gave everything we had,” Mahomes said. “They ended up making more plays at the end.”