Bowles defends that the Buccaneers did not bet on two in the loss to the Chiefs

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles defended his decision to kick an extra point and not attempt a two-point conversion after his team scored a touchdown with 30 seconds left in regulation in Monday night’s eventual 30-24 overtime loss. to the Kansas City Chiefs.

“We wanted to go to overtime because of the wet conditions on the field, we thought we had to go to overtime instead of going for two. We had our chances. We lost the game,” Bowles said.

The Bucs gave up a 5-yard touchdown to DeAndre Hopkins with 4:20 left in regulation that, with the point after, gave the Chiefs a 24-17 lead. After the teams traded quick 3-pointers, Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield led an 11-play drive that culminated with a 1-yard touchdown pass to receiver Ryan Miller.

But instead of going for two, which could have put Tampa Bay ahead by one point with 27 seconds left, Bucs kicker Chase McLaughlin came out.

“We picked one,” Bowles said. “We made our shots. We had our opportunities throughout the game. We just lost the game. It didn’t come down to that.”

In Week 9, four teams that scored touchdowns in the final two minutes of regulation decided to score extra points to tie their games. The ESPN Analytics model agreed with the decision to award the extra point in all four cases, but all four teams lost.

The Miami Dolphins were tied with 1:38 left and then lost on a 61-yard field goal in regulation to the Buffalo Bills. The New England Patriots tied their game with no time remaining and then lost on a 25-yard field goal in overtime to the Tennessee Titans. The Seattle Seahawks tied it with 0:51 left and then lost on a 39-yard touchdown pass in overtime against the Los Angeles Rams. And then the Bucs lost on a 2-yard touchdown by Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt.

When asked about putting the ball in the defense’s hands, Bowles said: “We were going to take our hits. We were playing good defense. We thought we were moving the ball offensively. We thought we had a good shot at the time. extra. We didn’t do it.” “I don’t make the plays.”

The Chiefs improved to 8-2 in overtime games, including the playoffs, since 2018, when Patrick Mahomes became a full-time starter, which is the best record of any team in that span.

For the Bucs, this was their second primetime overtime loss on the road this season in which the defense allowed a touchdown on the first possession. The Bucs also lost to the Atlanta Falcons 36-30 in overtime on Thursday night in Week 5. Since 2012, when the nfl adopted the current regular season overtime rules, only four teams have lost multiple games in prime time in overtime. in the same season, according to ESPN Research: the 2015 Cowboys, 2021 Chargers, 2022 Broncos and 2024 Buccaneers (all 0-2).

“It’s tough. You get nothing but a loss,” Bowles said. “And we can’t get used to losing, and that’s the most important thing. We’re not going to get used to losing. We had some good plays. We took our swings. They connected more than us. We fought, but it wasn’t good enough, so “We have to prepare next week for another one.”

The Bucs have won the NFC South title the last three seasons, and before that, defeated the Chiefs in Super Bowl LV as a wild card, but have now lost three straight games, falling to 4-5 and below .500 for the first time this season.

It all started with their 41-31 loss to the Baltimore Ravens two weeks ago in which receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin were injured. Miller was called up from the practice squad shortly after, and Monday night’s touchdown was the first of his nfl career. However, Mayfield was missing a third receiver against the Chiefs in rookie Jalen McMillan, who was deemed not healthy enough to play due to a hamstring injury.

Mayfield showed some frustration when the Bucs lost the toss in overtime.

“Against a team with an offense like that, you can only give them a limited number of opportunities,” Mayfield said. “They win the toss, and that’s what happens. I’m proud of our guys on offense who stepped up. Coach had a good message… ‘We’re this close. Don’t get used to losing, just tour”. “We have a home game next week against an NFC opponent and we have to find a way to win.”

Mayfield said nearly beating the nfl‘s only undefeated team on the road was no consolation prize.

“Right now, it’s about us,” Mayfield said. “It doesn’t matter who we play. We need to focus on doing our job and finding ways to win. That’s all that matters. We just have to stop the losing streak. We have to analyze the things of why we lost when Watch the tape and continue from over there”.