Todd Bowles’ team suffered a heartbreaking defeat on a rain-soaked night in Kansas City. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers suffered a 30-24 loss in the overtime against the undefeated defending champion Kansas City Chiefs.
However, after the loss, sports personality Skip Bayless shared his disappointment at head coach Bowles and his conservative tactics.
Skip Bayless: Todd Bowles’ Conservative Stance Led to Buccaneers’ OT Loss
With less than 30 seconds remaining on the clock, the Buccaneers scored a touchdown to get the score to 24-23. After this, the coaching staff did not choose to go for the two-point conversion and potentially take the lead.
The Bucs opted for Chase McLaughlin to kick the ball and level the game at 24-24. The Chiefs won the OT coin toss and scored a touchdown to win 30-24. However, Skip Bayless took to his X (formerly Twitter) to deride this choice.
GO FOR 2!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/VQcv5pQHYT
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) November 5, 2024
“Oh God, this situation screamed for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to go for 2, go for the throw, go for the huge upset of the nine-point favorite unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead,” said Bayless. “Todd Bowles, I like you man, but you’re arch-conservative, and you blew this one.”
Bayless further argued that Bowles should’ve given Baker Mayfield a chance to prove himself on a night when he was pretty accurate, registering 200 yards and two touchdowns with a depleted receiving corps.
Bowles Dismisses the ‘Go for 2’ Arguments After the Loss Against the Chiefs
Bayless’ words were echoed by the media as well. After the game, Bowles faced the press, and he was asked about the possibility of a two-point conversion. The 60-year-old argued that their loss did not come to that final call.
“Very minor,” he replied. We wanted to get it to overtime,” he said via the official transcript. “With the wet conditions on the field, we wanted overtime instead of going for two. We had our shots, and we lost the game.”
With this loss, the Bucs have slipped to the 11th spot in the NFC playoff picture. They will have a chance to better their odds this Sunday as the San Francisco 49ers come for a visit.