Bucs Nation
Todd Bowles got a small victory in round two of the postseason.
In the Wildcard round of the playoffs, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers suffered an upset defeat at the hands of Jayden Daniels. The loss ended a 10-win season (Bowles' best as a head coach) and opened the door for criticism and questions to be hurled at Tampa’s head man. The immediate reaction, from most in the Buccaneers’ community, centered around Todd Bowles and was highly negative. There has been no indication from the Bucs’ organization or anyone affiliated with Tampa Bay that the team is looking to make a change, however, fans have expressed interest in alternate options.
For time being, a promotion from within— giving Liam Coen the nod, has been the most popular take. As Tampa Bay’s head coach, Todd Bowles has seemingly always been embattled and this offseason was set to be a full of questions the second Zane Gonzalez kicked Tampa Bay into it.
Due to that kick last Sunday night, the Buccaneers didn't play this past weekend but Todd Bowles, even at home, managed to notch himself a subtle victory. One of the main criticisms of Bowles, following the Bucs’ game against Washington and for a better part of the 2024 season, was his defensive coordinating. Bowles, as a head coach, has retained his duties as the primary defensive play caller. A week ago, Bowles’ defense let Jayden Daniels skate down the field for the game-winning field goal attempt, while draining every last second off of the clock.
The drive reflects poorly on Bowles, 7 days later that hasn’t changed. Through the lens of the bigger picture, Todd Bowles —who coached most of the season and that Wildcard matchup through injuries at key positions— held Jayden Daniels and the explosive Washington Commanders’ offense to 23 points.
23 points with zero turnovers forced and not one single punt on the stat sheet is not the most endearing performance. When given the context of Daniels’ outing just one week later, against a team most have had slated as the NFC representative in the Super Bowl since mid-September, Tampa’s performance gets put in a different light.
Against the Detroit Lions’ defense, a unit coached by Aaron Glenn (a popular name in this year’s NFL head coaching cycle), Daniels posted 31 points in the first half— Eight more than Bowles’ group allowed in 60 minutes of football. Daniels then went on to finish Sunday’s game against the Lions with 350 total yards, two touchdowns, a completion percentage above 70, and a 45 on the scoreboard.
Todd Bowles is certainly not the gatekeeper of the secret sauce to stimey Washington’s young star quarterback, but his credibility as a defensive strategist took a large hit this past season (personified by the reactions to his team’s loss last week). The Lions’ inability to stop or even slightly slowdown Washington’s offense six days later does, or at the very least should, provide a new perspective of what Bowles coached out of his...
