Monday night’s game ended with a controversial decision by Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles to not go for two after scoring a touchdown to trim the score to 24-23 with 27 seconds left.
After the game, Bowles said he gave “very minor” consideration to a two-point conversion, and that the “wet conditions” drove the decision to play for overtime.
Bowles addressed the issue again in an interview with WFLA, via JoeBucsFan.com. Per Bowles, the decision was made before the final touchdown was scored.
“I mean, we talked about it as a staff going down there [to the end zone]; going forward we understood we were going for one and we were going to get it into overtime,” Bowles told Dan Lucas. “We felt we had momentum with moving the ball on offense; we thought defensively we could hold them to three and get the ball back and either tie them or beat them that way, as well. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen.”
Bowles wasn’t asked about the situation during his five-minute Wednesday press conference. Quarterback Baker Mayfield was; he said he didn’t urge Bowles to go for two.
“No, I didn’t lobby for [two],” Mayfield said, via JoeBucsFan.com. “I mean, hindsight is 20/20 when you look at it. [We] had a little momentum there on the long drive. They were gassed a little bit but, you know, hindsight is 20/20. . . . You’re hoping to win the coin toss. I’m not a fan of the overtime rules. Obviously it’s gotten us twice now so, yeah, overtime rules — not the best.”
Again, the issue wasn’t failing to go for two. The issue was taking a timeout with 33 seconds left. Going for two and giving the ball back to Patrick Mahomes with three timeouts and 27 seconds to play is a recipe for disaster.
The only way to slay the dragon that is the Chiefs is to score that touchdown with minimal time on the clock and then go for two.
