Studs and duds from the Bucs’ Wild Card loss to the Commanders

The Buccaneers head coach made it to his third straight playoff berth, but as it has in every previous year, Tampa Bay fell short. The team was out of sorts across the board, and Bowles’ game management did them no favors.

Bowles waited to call timeouts both at the end of the half and heading into the end of the game, possibly costing his team chances to get into the game. He also was far more conservative than his opponent, Dan Quinn, when it came to going for it on fourth down. Bowles had chances to convert on 4th-and-short on their first and final drives but settled for field goals. Conversely, the Commanders converted three out of five 4th down conversions, including the go-ahead touchdown.

Bowles’ game management possibly cost the Bucs a couple of games this season and is unlikely to improve. That his defense has gotten worse every year since he became head coach, going from allowing -0.026 EPA to 0.017 EPA since 2022, begs the question of whether Bowles is the answer for Tampa Bay.