LANDOVER, Md. -- Jameis Winston and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers finally started fast.

Too bad they failed to finish in Sunday's gut-wrenching, 31-30 meltdown against the Washington Redskins.

Don't blame Winston for this one after the Bucs collapsed in epic fashion, squandering a 24-7 halftime lead. A soft defense allowed Kirk Cousins -- a quarterback who had given away turnovers in recent weeks like Halloween treats -- to go 9-for-11 for 75 yards on the decisive drive, which ended with his 6-yard scoring pass to Jordan Reed with 24 seconds left.

The Bucs (2-4) were so close to reaching .500 for the first time since December 2012, only to watch a fifth-ranked defense get exposed.

The silver lining in this crushing collapse was Winston. He could easily have cracked but didn't as the Redskins pulled within a field goal entering the fourth quarter.

On a day when Winston threw for two touchdowns and 297 yards, no throw seemed bigger than his 14-yard dart to receiver Mike Evans on third-and-3 from his own 32 with 4:38 left. One play after that huge first down, Doug Martin raced 49 yards to the Redskins' 2. Connor Barth's field goal gave Tampa Bay a six-point lead, which wasn't enough as the defense came undone.

What it means: The Bucs stagger into next Sunday's NFC South showdown against the Atlanta Falcons (6-1).

What were they thinking? Special teams showed a glaring lack of awareness on a lost third-quarter onside kick. Redskins kicker Dustin Hopkins is excellent at the onside kick -- only the Bucs either forgot or weren't paying attention as two of them, Jude Adjei-Barimah and Danny Lansanah, let Trent Robinson recover. That enabled Cousins to cut it to a one-score game when he hit Reed on a 3-yard touchdown with 6:56 left. Quite the lack of killer instinct for a team that led 24-7 at halftime.

One reason to get excited: Winston finally clicked with Evans, who broke his touchdown drought in a big way. Evans finished with eight catches for 164 yards and a touchdown on 12 targets.

One reason to panic: In an alarming continuance of the Bucs' red zone woes, defensive end William Gholston bit hard on Cousins' play-action fake to tailback Matt Jones late in the first half. Cousins ran the read-option fake to perfection as Gholston crashed in and Cousins easily outraced safety Bradley McDougald for an 8-yard touchdown run around the left side. It was another sign that despite their fifth overall defensive ranking, the Bucs remain a flawed unit that ranks 31st in scoring defense.

Fantasy watch: Martin keeps tearing it up. For the third straight game, the dynamic tailback cracked the 100-yard rushing mark, finishing with 136 yards on 19 carries. He belongs in the elite running back conversation.

Ouch: Third receiver Louis Murphy was helped off after clutching his right knee midway through the third quarter. He did not return, and his absence hurts the depth for an offense already missing second-year receiving tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins.

Wild cards: The Bucs kept shooting themselves in the foot with undisciplined play, committing 16 penalties worth 142 yards.