Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles is facing scrutiny over his decision not to use the team's final timeout in a recent game against the Detroit Lions. Bowles explained that with the Lions in field-goal range and the Buccaneers potentially being down by 11 points with only 12 seconds left after the timeout, he felt the effort was 'kind of pointless' and that 'You kind of know when the game is over'. Critics questioned whether Bowles gave up on the game too early, as calling the timeout could have given the Buccaneers a chance to get the ball back while down one score with approximately 30 seconds remaining.
Todd Bowles had an awkward explanation for why the Buccaneers didn’t call their final timeout vs. Lions https://t.co/v8W662Ey4N
Todd Bowles on why he didn’t use his final timeout: No sense in prolonging the obvious. https://t.co/S8tkooq81g
WHY Did Todd Bowles Refuse To Call A Timeout That Could Have Given The Bucs The Ball Back Down One Score With 30 Seconds Left? https://t.co/NmQFTU7qlL https://t.co/JhsZl97uQf
Todd Bowles explaining his odd choice not to use his final timeout last night to give the Bucs one final (albeit incredibly longshot) chance. 👇 https://t.co/45hQhKMAWs
Bowles on not using his last timeout: "They were in field-goal range. We would've had 12 seconds calculated after using that timeout to come back from it, then we would've been down 11 points. It's kind of pointless. You kind of know when the game is over."
Bowles on not using final time out vs. Lions: "Kind of pointless. You kind of know when the game is over. The game was over." I asked if there's a gentleman's agreement not to take one if you haven't on first two downs, and he said no, just thought the game was over.
Did Todd Bowles give up on the Bucs too early? 👀 https://t.co/oM26WVr11p
Why did the Bucs not call a timeout with 30 seconds left and make them kick the FG?
We love our @Buccaneers ! Buccaneers Coach Todd Bowles 🔥🔥🔥 https://t.co/9WFxSa91RQ