Todd Bowles’ puzzling Chase McLaughlin decision vs. Packers finally makes sense

In case you’ve already erased Sunday’s debacle from your memory, and frankly, who could blame you, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers fell to 0-4 with a 17-14 loss to the Green Bay Packers.

Head Coach Todd Bowles was met with a critical decision at the end of the game: either go for a 4th-and-11 to keep the game alive or attempt a 65-yard field goal with Chase McLaughlin.

Bowles opted to go for it, and that would be the right move in most cases. But the Buccaneers have the NFL’s best long-distance kicker in McLaughlin, who nailed a 65-yard field goal just last season. The fourth-down attempt was unsuccessful, and Bowles was heavily criticized for not giving his kicker a chance to tie the game, but the team’s latest injury report provides some context that makes Bowles’ decision much more reasonable.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers kicker Chase McLaughlin is on the injury report

McLaughlin was added to Tampa Bay’s injury report and listed as a non-participant on Tuesday with a groin/hip injury on his kicking leg.

Well, if he was dealing with that issue on Sunday, then Bowles deserves an apology, as he was in the right for not trotting out an injured kicker to attempt a long field goal.

Bowles said after the game that the field goal was “10-to-15 yards too far” for the Buccaneers to feel comfortable kicking, which made little sense at the time given that we’ve seen McLaughlin kick from that distance before. But suddenly, things are starting to add up.

Few, if any kickers, are as dependable as McLaughlin. He’s made 98% of his extra points and 91% of his field goals since joining the Buccaneers in 2023, including an impressive 88% from 50-plus yards. Tampa Bay can always feel good about trotting him out to put three points on the board

The Bucs simply can’t afford to be without McLaughlin for any extended time. He has arguably been the team’s MVP through four weeks, and is the most consistent, reliable player they have.

The Buccaneers are heavy underdogs against the Cowboys and their high-powered offense. If Tampa Bay has any shot of winning, they’ll need to score a lot of points, and some of those would come via McLaughlin’s leg. If he can’t go Thursday night, that’s a bigger blow than the Bucs can bear as they desperately try to avoid an 0-5 start to the season.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow