In a tight race in the NFC South, any loss could be detrimental to the Buccaneers’ season and playoff hopes.
Friday’s defeat to the rival Falcons seemed like an extra gut punch, and it sure appeared like head coach Todd Bowles felt it that way.
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Tampa Bay blew a 28-14 lead to fall in a 29-28 heartbreaker on a last-second field goal, and when Bowles was asked in his postgame press conference about how he addresses his team in the locker room after a game like that, he made sure to say that he relayed that the loss was “inexcusable.”
That and some other choice words.
“It’s inexcusable, you don’t make excuses,” Bowles responded.
“You gotta f–king care enough where the s–t hurts. You gotta f–king care enough where the s–t hurts. It’s gotta f–king mean something to you. It’s more than a job, it’s your f–king livelihood.
“How well do you know your job? How well can you do your job? You can’t sugarcoat that s–t. It was inexf–kingcusable, and there’s no f–ing answer for it. There’s no excuse for it. That’s what you tell them in the locker room — look in the f–king mirror.”
The loss was painful not only because of the fact that the Buccaneers (7-7) were outscored 15-8 in the final quarter by the Falcons (5-9), but the defeat put Tampa Bay in second place in the division behind the 7-6 Panthers, who are slated to play the Saints on Sunday.
Quarterback Baker Mayfield threw for 277 yards and two touchdowns, but his interception with under nine minutes left in the fourth quarter led to a Falcons touchdown drive that cut Tampa Bay’s lead to two points.
The Buccaneers stalled after six plays on their next possession and punted. Atlanta QB Kirk Cousins then led a 45-yard drive, capped off by Zane Gonzalez’s 43-yard field goal at the horn.
“We’re pissed off,” Mayfield said. “We expected to win that game, we want to win that game, we should be pissed off. … It’s not the defense’s fault, it’s our fault — it’s my fault.”
This article first appeared on The New York Postand was reproduced with permission.
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