"I just thought we lost our poise. We didn't execute. We had penalties, and false starts and overthrows and wrong routes and that type of thing,'' he said. "And that's what you can't have.
"I thought they played hard, but we just had a lot of (missed) opportunities. We got the ball at our 40-yard line or better five times and didn't get any points out of any of those five drives.
"It's tough to do that in that type of game and come out with a victory."
SECOND CHANCE: Quarterback Trent Dilfer is particularly glad the Bucs have one final game Sunday at home against the Chicago Bears. He's coming off what is perhaps his worst outing of the year against the Vikings. He went 13-of-32 for just 104 yards and two interceptions.
"I'm glad we've got another one," Dilfer said. "I don't want to end the season like (against Minnesota)."
Dungy said a big reason why the offense sputtered all day was Dilfer's inability to follow the passing plan.
"He just didn't follow through on his reads," Dungy said. "When we have passing plays, he's supposed to go through a progression (of options). I think he just ... made up his mind a little before the snap - where he was going, who might be open and that type of thing - rather than just doing things the way we've done them the last 13 or 14 weeks.
"That was disappointing, but sometimes that happens."
INJURY UPDATE: Special-teams player Jeff Gooch apparently injured his knee against Minnesota, and Dungy said the injury "looked like it could be somewhat serious."
Safety John Lynch is nursing a hip pointer that knocked him out of Sunday's game. Dungy said it looked minor, but he wasn't sure the extent of it. Guard Ian Beckles, who sat out the Vikings game with a back injury, is still a question mark. Guard Jim Pyne is still out with a broken leg.
Several players have injuries that are bothering them, and Dungy said he will probably be a little more cautious about playing someone like Beckles if he's not close to 100 percent.
