That was the cold reality lingering Tuesday from a 38-23 loss to Carolina in which one of the NFL's top defenses yielded 299 yards rushing and permitted the Panthers to convert eight of 10 third-down situations.

The Bucs (9-4) allowed one rushing touchdown, as well as a lone 100-yard rusher, all season before Monday night, when DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart both topped the century mark and each scored twice against them.

"We've played very well defensively and last night, hopefully we can use that as some motivation as we finish the season," coach Jon Gruden said in a subdued tone reflecting disappointment as well as a lack of rest following a middle-of-the night flight home from Charlotte.

"We missed more tackles than we had missed probably all season. Again, I'm not going to stand up here and make excuses," he added. "I'll take responsibility for it. We've got to do much better."

The loss dropped Tampa Bay a game behind Carolina (10-3) in the NFC South with three games to play. The Bucs travel to Atlanta (8-5) for another important divisional matchup on Sunday, then finish the regular season at home against San Diego and Oakland.

Players were at a loss to explain what happened against the Panthers, who had TD drives of 73, 73, 72 and 90 yards - the latter entirely on the ground - after failing to score a touchdown in a 27-3 loss to the Bucs on Oct. 12.

Poor tackling was a problem as Williams averaged 9.8 yards per carry on his way to a career-best 186 yards on 19 attempts. Stewart had eye-popping numbers, too, gaining 7.7 per carry and finishing with 115 yards on 15 attempts.

"They didn't take their foot off the accelerator. They just kept doing what they were doing and really gave it to us," cornerback Ronde Barber said.

The Panthers would have finished with over 300 yards rushing if Jake Delhomme hadn't taken a knee on the game's last two plays.

Linebacker Barrett Ruud called the subpar performance by the defense "embarrassing" - particularly with it coming in a rare appearance on Monday Night Football, and with Tampa Bay's offense having one of its best games of the season.

Jeff Garcia had his second 300-yard game passing, and Antonio Bryant had nine receptions for 200 yards and two TDs.

"You don't get many opportunities to have that national audience, and it is by far our worst game. ... Now, we've just got to regroup with one less day and go play Atlanta," Ruud said, a sentiment echoed by teammates.

"We're a little disappointed. We're not discouraged. Thus far we played ourselves into this position and next week is still important," defensive end Kevin Carter said. "It gives us a chance to make something happen going towards the playoffs, so nothing's really changed."

Except that even if the Bucs win their remaining games, they'll need some help to repeat as NFC South champions. A victory Monday night would have left them in control of the division.

"You can't panic. We knew going into this it was going to be a tough stretch," Ruud said. "Win or lose ... it was still going to be a dogfight to the end."

Gruden is confident the team, which had won four straight, will bounce back.

"We have a lot of resolve. We have a lot of character," the coach said. "Obviously we wanted that game desperately last night, but we'll use it as motivation."