In the realm of NFL coaching, the award for the most perplexing decision of the weekend likely belongs to Todd Bowles of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This questionable late-game decision occurred during the Buccaneers’ 31-23 divisional-round loss to the Detroit Lions on Sunday.
With just under 40 seconds left to play against the Lions, the Buccaneers had an opportunity to get the ball back, but Bowles chose not to use his final timeout. Despite the interception by Detroit’s Derrick Barnes with 1:33 left, the Lions did not utilize the entire play clock before taking a knee on their final three plays. When Jared Goff kneeled the ball on third down with 36 seconds remaining, Bowles had the option to call a timeout, forcing the Lions to run a play on fourth-and-13 from Tampa Bay’s 31-yard line. However, Bowles decided against using the timeout.
After the game, Bowles attempted to explain his decision, stating, “They already had a field goal lined up, and it would’ve been about 12 seconds left on the clock to end the ball game; we weren’t going to come back from that. No sense in prolonging the obvious.”
This explanation raised eyebrows as it seemed to imply that Bowles wasn’t attentive to the clock. There were actually 36 seconds left after Goff’s kneel-down, not 12. Bowles assumed the Lions would attempt a field goal, and because of that assumption, he didn’t believe the Bucs could come back from an 11-point deficit if the kick was successful.
However, Bowles overlooked the possibility of the Lions missing the field goal, especially from 49 yards out. The math suggested a 40% chance that the Buccaneers could get the ball back. Even if the field goal attempt took six seconds off the clock, the Bucs would have had 30 seconds left at their own 39, needing to drive just 61 yards for a potential game-tying touchdown.
Bowles, asked about the timeout situation again on Monday, stuck to his explanation, emphasizing the perceived futility of attempting a comeback.
Despite the Lions giving the Bucs extra time by not using the entire play clock on their kneel-downs, Bowles chose not to seize the opportunity, leaving many baffled by his decision and the subsequent explanation.