Todd Bowles is in his third season as the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. His record is 27-24, but the team has won three straight division titles. Coming into this season’s playoffs, the Buccaneers were 1-2 in the playoffs under Bowles.
Bowles made a questionable decision late in the second half against the Washington Commanders that could have cost his team precious playoff points.
Tampa Bay had two timeouts remaining, but Bowles wasted around 10 seconds before calling the timeout. The team was down 10-3 and had only 17 seconds left on the clock to score, which they did, but their head coach made things tougher than they should have been.
Todd Bowles’ Decision Sparks Outrage From Fans
Marshon Lattimore helped the Buccaneers as the Commanders’ cornerback was called for defensive pass interference while trying to guard Mike Evans. It saved Tampa Bay time and put them on 1st-and-goal, where Baker Mayfield connected with Evans for a touchdown.
The game was tied at 10-10 at halftime, but Bowles’ decision could have easily cost the Buccaneers seven points.
Fans on social media called out Bowles for wasting time before calling the timeout, as they believed it could have cost the Buccaneers. Here are some of the reactions:
And then he started looking around for someone to blame, lol
— aka𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗲𝘆 💎💜 (@akaFoley) January 13, 2025
“What the hell was that? He had TWO timeouts,” said a fan.
Another fan added, “Todd Bowles has horrific time management, and he constantly does this.”
Did Todd Bowles go to Matt Eberflus' School of Saving Timeouts?
— DaRealConMan (@0604Reynolds) January 13, 2025
“The Buccaneers’ offensive talent and Marshon Lattimore bailed out Todd Bowles’ incompetent clock management on that drive,” wrote a fan.
“Needs to play some Madden clock management was atrocious,” said one fan.
Todd Bowles was bailed out so hard there, sometimes it's better to be lucky than good. Especially when you're a low IQ NFL coach. https://t.co/Mm8vjPMCzE
— Thechek182 (@thechek182) January 13, 2025
Bowles’ in-game decisions have been a cause of concern since he became the Buccaneers’ head coach.
The Buccaneers’ defense came into the playoffs, giving up an average of 22.6 points and 360.4 yards of total offense per game. These numbers are not a good look for Bowles, who is known for his brilliance in coaching the defense as he was also the team’s defensive coordinator for three seasons before becoming the head coach.
Evans and Mayfield saved him from tough questions about the wastage of time in calling timeouts, but he has to be better for the Buccaneers to make a deep playoff run.
Mike Evans Dominated Marshon Lattimore in the First Half
The biggest reason everyone was looking forward to the Commanders and Buccaneers matchup was the rivalry between Evans and Lattimore. The star wide receiver and cornerback are known for having animosity towards each other, which was quite evident whenever they faced each other during Lattimore’s time with the New Orleans Saints.
Before this game, Lattimore had always got the better of Evans, as the Buccaneers star had recorded more than 50 receiving yards once in 11 games against the cornerback. However, the story was not the same tonight.
Evans finished the first half with five receptions for 66 yards and a touchdown on five targets. As mentioned earlier, the DPI from Lattimore helped the Buccaneers tie the game at the end of the first half.
The Commanders traded for the four-time Pro Bowler to improve their secondary, but since arriving in Washington, Lattimore has missed six of the eight games for the team due to a hamstring injury. He was brought in to have an impact in big games, but so far, his performance against Evans has not been ideal. The team will hope the cornerback will bounce back in the second half and help the team reach the Divisonal Round.