The Tampa Bay Buccaneers saw their four-game winning streak snapped in Dallas on Sunday night in a painful 26-24 decision, but they had the ball with time left to score the go-ahead points. Unfortunately, cornerback DaRon Bland made a great individual play to strip the ball out of Rachaad White’s hand to end that last Buccaneer threat.

There are no moral victories in the NFL and that defeat actually cost the Bucs the top spot in the NFC South, at least for now, but quarterback Baker Mayfield did find one thing about it encouraging.

“The positive from the game is that we’re giving ourselves a chance and an opportunity late in the games,” he said. “[If] the team didn’t have any fight, like I mentioned postgame… We’re always going to keep fighting, keep swinging and see what happens.”

The Bucs trailed 10-0 in the first quarter and never took the lead, but they stayed within striking distance thanks in part to three young pass-catchers who have seen their roles expand in recent weeks. Rookie Jalen McMillan has 14 catches for 191 yards and four touchdowns in the last three games and against the Cowboys played the most snaps of any of the Bucs’ receivers. First-year wideout Ryan Miller, who earlier in the season got in some significant playing time with both Mike Evans and Chris Godwin out, came on to play 33 snaps in Dallas after an injury to Sterling Shepard. And second-year tight end Payne Durham took over the number-one tight end role with Cade Otton sidelined by a knee injury and played a career-high 67 snaps. All three made important contributions to an offense that rolled up 410 yards on Sunday night.

McMillan cut the Cowboys lead to 20-14 in the second quarter when he hauled in an 11-yard touchdown pass, part of a five-catch, 57-yard outing. McMillan has grown comfortable in the second-receiver role and clearly has strengthened his connection with Mayfield.

“I think a lot of it is communication but majority of it is just him continuing to progress,” said Mayfield. “The progression he’s had this year is what you want to see out of your rookies. The game kind of slows down for him, he’s understanding what we’re trying to get done, his head is not spinning anymore. That’s why you see him executing. When you compare the mental aspect of it with the physical ability that he already has, that’s why you see the success.”

Miller has become a jack-of-all-trades for the Bucs’ offense, learning all the different receiver jobs so that he can fill in at any spot if one of the team’s other receivers is unavailable.

“Ryan is a guy that – he has to be able to know all the receiver spots,” said Mayfield. “[He’s a] plug-and-play guy that just continues to make plays for us, continues to do a lot of the dirty work which is extremely important, and he takes pride in that. Ryan prepares his tail off and that’s why he has success.”

Durham had already been seeing increased playing time as the Buccaneers gradually used more and more “12” personnel packages in Liam Coen’s scheme. Durham would usually join Otton on the field for those plays and primarily contributed as a blocker. On Sunday night, those blocking skills became more important as he played almost every snap and the Buccaneers only used 12 personnel sparingly. He had a career-high five catches, and while they only went for 27 total yards he was an important safety valve for Mayfield and he was responsible for the Bucs’ first third-down conversion of the evening.

“I thought Payne did a great job filling in for Cade,” said Mayfield. “I think he was able to show that some of his route running and just catching the ball – that ability – he’s got great hands. He’s a bigger guy. He’s not as twitchy as Cade but [he has] a little bit bigger frame so we trust him, and he obviously does a lot for us in the run game when Cade is playing too.”

Otton and Shepard are likely to be question marks this week leading up to a must-win game on Sunday against Carolina. That means Durham and Miller may be needed to step up again in Week 17. Meanwhile, McMillan has now made himself a key part of the Bucs’ passing attack week-in and week-out. It’s a young group, but those players have clearly earned Mayfield’s trust.