Todd Bowles got better at game management decisions over the course of the 2023 NFL season, but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers‘ head coach made a baffling call at the end of his club’s Divisional Round loss to the Detroit Lions.
What did Bowles do on Saturday night that’s caused so much commotion? And what did the Lions do that was arguably just as egregious? Let’s dive into all the details.
Todd Bowles’ Perplexing Answer About Failing To Call Timeout Against the Lions
Here’s the scene: With the Bucs trailing 31-23 and 1:35 remaining in the fourth quarter, Baker Mayfield threw an interception to Lions linebacker Derrick Barnes, setting up Detroit with a 1st-and-10 at the Tampa Bay 28-yard line.
At this point, the game should’ve been all but over. There was one minute and 33 seconds on the game clock when the Lions took their 1st-and-10 snap. The Buccaneers only had one timeout in their pocket.
Had Detroit run the ball on three consecutive plays and burned roughly five seconds on each play, it could have almost entirely drained the clock. It wouldn’t have mattered if the Lions converted a field goal attempt or not — Tampa Bay wouldn’t have had time to do anything on the other side.
But Dan Campbell — one of the best game managers in the league — somehow didn’t have his offense prepared. Detroit didn’t run the ball to kill the clock; instead, Jared Goff kneeled three times.
Even the kneels were botched. Goff only burned 27 seconds between the Lions’ first and second-down plays instead of letting more of the 40-second play clock run. Just 28 seconds passed between Detroit’s second and third-down plays.
Goff kneeled on third down with 36 seconds left on the game clock — while the Buccaneers still had a timeout.
It was an inconceivable error from the Lions, but Tampa Bay didn’t take advantage. With seemingly no one on the Bucs staff paying attention to the clock or the game situation, the two teams’ players shook hands and went their merry way.
This is the craziest thing I've ever seen in football. I don't know what's dumber. The Lions snap it early or the Bucs not using the last timeout to try to win the game. pic.twitter.com/pvVbe55gp7
— Adam Moelis (@adammoelis) January 21, 2024
This massive error didn’t go unnoticed on Sunday afternoon. Asked why he didn’t use his last timeout to stop the clock after the Lions’ final kneeldown, Bowles gave a bewildering explanation.
“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,” Bowles said. “We weren’t going to come back from that. No sense in prolonging the obvious.”
The excuse simply doesn’t make any sense. First, it’s unclear where Bowles’ “12 seconds” timeline comes from, but he referred to the same timeframe again on Monday.
“They were in field-goal range, would have had 12 seconds calculated after using that timeout to come back from it,” Bowles said. “Then we would’ve been down 11 points. It’s kind of pointless. You kind of know when the game is over, and the game was over.”
Bowles might be noting the 12 seconds or so the Bucs would have had on the other end of a Detroit field goal had the Lions timed their kneeldowns correctly — which they didn’t!
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Bowles’ explanation — and his doubling down — make it clear that he still isn’t aware of what actually happened on Sunday. There was simply no reason not to call a timeout with 36 seconds left and give the Buccaneers’ offense a chance.
That leads to the second issue with Bowles’ version of events. Bowles assumes that Lions kicker Michael Badgley would have converted a high-pressure, 49-yard field goal to secure a playoff victory.
That’s a big assumption, especially for a journeyman kicker like Badgley, who’d only been on Detroit’s active roster for a month. Badgley’s career field goal conversion rate is 82.4%; he’s missed 11 of 48 career attempts from 40 to 49 yards.
If Bowles had called timeout after Goff’s third kneeldown and Badgley had missed the kick, Tampa Bay would have had the ball at its own 39-yard line with roughly 30 seconds remaining.
Mayfield and Co. would have needed to drive 61 yards with no timeouts, score a touchdown, and convert a two-point conversion just to send the game to overtime.
Was it an unlikely outcome? Of course. But Bowles should have at least given the Buccaneers a shot.
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