The Tampa Bay Buccaneers still have all of their goals in front of them despite going 1-3 in their last four games. That’s due to the electric start to the season the Bucs had, where quarterback Baker Mayfield’s connection with rookie wide receiver Emeka Egbuka had him in the MVP conversation and the Bucs running away with the NFC South.
Fast forward to the midway point of the regular season, and things are going very differently in Tampa. The Carolina Panthers are hard on Tampa’s heels in the NFC South race, and any talk of Mayfield winning the MVP has been squashed.
Things seem to be hitting a dire point in the locker room and on the sideline.
Tampa Bay’s last game, a loss to the Buffalo Bills, saw Bucs head coach Todd Bowles wave the white flag and quit on the game, rather than trying to pull off a comeback late.
Tampa Bay had the ball with 38 seconds on the clock and down two scores, but rather than trying to go for it, Bowles sent in backup Teddy Bridgewater to kneel the game out.
With 38 seconds left and the Buccaneers down by 12, Todd Bowles decided not to attempt a miraculous comeback and instead sent in backup quarterback Teddy Bridgewater to kneel down. https://t.co/1n3LqvqxI7
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) November 18, 2025
Fans reacted to the embarassing decision on social media.
“I didn’t like it one bit. It felt wrong. You fight to the bitter end,” one fan wrote on Twitter.
“Baker wanted to finish the game, as most leaders do. Watch the video, he was mystified and irked when they changed to run final play,” someone else wrote.
It’ll be interesting to see how Bowles responds if he finds himself in that situation again.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.