The Tampa Bay Buccaneers traded blows with the Kansas City Chiefs for 60 minutes Monday night before the Chiefs won the coin toss in overtime. To no one’s surprise, Patrick Mahomes took the Chiefs down the field to win the game for Kansas City, 30-24, as the Buccaneers dropped to 4-5 on the season.
Playing without their top three wide receivers, the Buccaneers ran the ball with authority, and Cade Otten was once again a vital component of the offense with eight catches for 77 yards and a touchdown.
The Buccaneers ran the ball for 95 yards, averaging five yards per carry, and were led by Bucky Irving with 24 yards on seven carries.
After Baker Mayfield hit Ryan Miller with a one-yard touchdown pass with 27 seconds to play to make it 24-23, Todd Bowles had a decision to make.
Would he play for OT or go for two and try to win the game on a cold, wet, rainy night in Kansas City?
Bowles has struggled over the years with clock management and the ability to make good decisions at critical points in the game.
Bowles opted to play for overtime, kicking the extra point to tie the game at 24 as regulation expired.
The Chiefs won the coin toss and took the ball first in OT. The Buccaneers would never touch the ball again as Mahomes would have his team in the end zone 9:16 later to cap off a 30-24 win for Kansas City, which remains undefeated on the season.
Bowles talked about his decision not to go for two and play for OT in his post-game press conference. He said the weather conditions were why the Bucs didn’t go for two.
“We wanted to get it to overtime with the wet conditions on the field. We felt like we had to go to overtime instead of going for two. We had our shots, and we lost the game. We went for one. We had our chances the whole game. It didn’t come down to that.”
This type of decision-making is why the Glazers need to examine whether Todd Bowles is the right man to lead this team going forward.
You have one play to take the lead in the weather elements. Instead, you opt to go into OT, where you will have to execute multiple plays to take the ball down a wet and rainy field if you win the coin toss.
Bowles rolled the dice and lost.
Just a month ago, the Bucs lost similarly in a primetime game to the Atlanta Falcons. In that game, the Falcons needed four plays to score a touchdown and give the Bucs a loss.
Considering how the Bucs’ defense has played, it would have been wise to take your chances and go for two.
With the loss, the Buccaneers are now three games behind Atlanta in the NFC South.
The offense continues to perform well, but the real problem continues to be the defense. When scoring 24 points or more, the NFL is 93-23, while the Buccaneers are 3-4. That is a problem.
Although the Bucs defense sacked Patrick Mahomes thrice, he passed for 291 yards and three touchdowns.
The Buccaneers will have another tough matchup on Sunday afternoon when they host the San Francisco 49ers.
The Bucs will have their bye week after the 49ers game before the schedule gets easier down the stretch. The Buccaneers play one team with a winning record in the second half of the season, playing at the LA Chargers.