For the second week in a row, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are reeling after a loss in which they were their own worst enemy. The Bucs let mistakes and poor decisions get in the way last Sunday against the Patriots, and the same thing happened in Buffalo in Week 11.
One of those decisions came when Todd Bowles decided to fold his hand at the worst possible time.
Midway through the fourth quarter, with the Bucs down only five points, Bowles elected to punt on 4th-and-2 rather than try to convert and keep the drive going. It was a critical error, one that was instantly roasted for being the wrong one and a move that essentially killed Tampa Bay's chances of getting back into the game.
There was risk involved, as the ball was on Tampa Bay's side of the field at the 39-yardline, but the context of the situation is what made both the decision and Bowles' explanation of it after the game even worse.
Todd Bowles isn't going to win anyone over with his explanation for punting on 4th-and-2
After the game, Bowles was asked about what went into the decision, and he gave both the blandest and most frustrating answer he possibly could have.
"There was plenty of time, we felt like we had a chance." Bowles said. "It was early in the fourth quarter, we felt like we had a chance to not give them a short field there."
Here's the thing, it wasn't that early in the fourth quarter which is just one layer of why this answer from Bowles is so frustrating to hear. The Bucs punted the ball away with 7:28 left in the game, which might seem moderately fine without the key context that the game had already seen nine lead changes up to that point.
That's where the other part of the frustration comes into play; Bowles' defense was absolutely atrocious on Sunday. Josh Allen set a new NFL record for passing and rushing touchdowns, which is who the Bucs were giving the ball back to.
Allen carved Tampa Bay's defense up for 317 yards and six total touchdowns, and unsurprisingly needed just eight plays to extend Buffalo's lead to double digits.
It was an objectively questionable call on its own, but borders on malpractice given everything involved in the equation. Beyond that, it sent the entirely wrong message at a critical juncture in the game; the Bucs decided to fold rather than be aggressive and it sort of set the tone for how the rest of the game went.
Tampa Bay got the ball back with time to get back into it but the Bucs couldn't muster anything up. Baker Mayfield blamed his interception in the third quarter as a moment in which the game's momentum swung, but the final nail in the coffin was Bowles' decision to punt it on 4th-and-2.
Nothing suggested it was the right call, and it's one that the Bucs paid for dearly in the end. Hearing an answer that amounts to a shoulder shrug doesn't make things much better.