Todd Bowles deflects blame and calls out Bucs starter for questionable game-changing moment in loss to Panthers
Tampa Bay had an avoidable moment that contributed to their loss to Carolina.
There were plenty of reasons the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost 23-20 to the Carolina Panthers on Sunday to fall to 7-8 and out of the NFC South lead.
For the second straight week, a fourth quarter Baker Mayfield interception cost the team, with this one coming on a miscommunication with Mike Evans on the final drive. The Bucs didn’t generate enough explosive plays on offense. The defense continued to struggle to pressure the passer, and Bryce Young hit on some key throws with time.
And, as has been the case far, far too often, the Bucs saw a couple of balls go over their defensive backs’ heads for crucial, game-changing plays.
One of those came with 12 seconds left in the first half and Carolina in the red zone with the Bucs up 10-6. The Panthers were out of timeouts, so a tackle in bounds meant the half would almost certainly end. That made guarding the end zone the utmost priority.
However, even with being the case, the Bucs blitzed, and CB Jamel Dean got beat over the top on a fade to Tetairoa McMillan for a touchdown that gave the Panthers a 13-10 lead at the half.
Some questioned whether Tampa Bay should have blitzed there. However, Todd Bowles on Monday put the blame on Dean for being out of position and getting beaten deep.
Todd Bowles points the finger at Jamel Dean’s mistake on key touchdown catch by Carolina WR Tetairoa McMillan
“Like you say, he could have played it better,” Bowles said. “The blitz should have gotten home. He should have been in a better position. It was a bad technique and play on his part. The ball should have never happened.
“He was by himself. That should have been off and deeper, and we talked about it. He understands that, and he knows the situation. We do it all the time.”
Bowles comments aren’t necessarily wrong about Dean’s execution on the play. When the only play is behind you in the end zone, you’ve got to be deep enough to handle that responsibility.
However, it was also certainly a choice to get aggressive and not drop players deep when the field of play was effectively off limits, and the end zone was the only real option for Young to target to keep time from running out on the half.
Perhaps Dean should have made a better play. In fact, he certainly should have. However, it’s perhaps a play he shouldn’t have been put in position to have to make under those circumstances, whether the head coach wants to admit it or not.