This could be the collapse that sums up an inexcusable Bucs season The game was won, and the season was rescued. Until it wasn't. Mike Evans was a hero, Baker Mayfield was a gamer and Todd Bowles was a survivor. Until they weren't. Sole possession of first place once again belonged to the Bucs. Until they gave it away. In their 50 years of football, this was not the first time the Bucs had blown a two-touchdown lead but, good gosh, Thursday night's 29-28 loss to the Falcons certainly ranks among the most devastating collapses in franchise history. It is absolutely accurate to say hope still remains and a division title is within reach if the Bucs win their final three games, but how do you believe in a team that doesn't seem to believe in itself? How do you expect to beat the Panthers next week when you continually beat yourself? This was not a comeback by Josh Allen and the Bills. It was not a last-minute miracle by Matthew Stafford and the Rams. This was a Falcons team with a 4-9 record that had lost every close game it had played, committed a ridiculous 19 penalties Thursday night and was starting a 37-year-old backup quarterback. That's who the Bucs lost to. And that's the result that could cost Bowles his job. The normally mild-mannered Bucs coach went off-script with a profane postgame news conference that still did not match the enormity of this choke. He repeatedly called the outcome inexcusable and uncharacteristically lambasted his players before acknowledging that finger-pointing was not the way to go. "It's inexcusable. We don't make excuses," Bowles said. "You've got to f--king care enough where this s--t hurts. It's got to f--king mean something. 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 in-f--king-excusable. There is no f--king answer for it. That's what you tell them in the locker room. Look in the f--king mirror." Were you inclined to point fingers, you would need to use both hands to adequately explain Thursday night's shortcomings. In no particular order: • Mayfield threw a critical interception with 8:22 remaining that led to an Atlanta touchdown that cut Tampa Bay's lead to 28-26. • With a chance to kill the clock in the final two minutes, the offensive line self-destructed. Bucky Irving was thrown for a 4-yard loss, Mayfield threw an incompletion and then was sacked on third down. • And a defense that has steadily deteriorated this season allowed quarterback Kirk Cousins to complete back-to-back passes on third and 28 to set up a game-winning field goal as time expired. "I didn't execute enough," Mayfield said. "When a quarterback doesn't execute enough in a tight game, you're not going to win." While the blame can be spread from offense to defense to special teams, Bowles will take the majority of the hits. At least as far as the average fan is concerned. It won't matter that injuries decimated the Bucs at midseason. It won't matter that a pass rusher was not acquired in the offseason. It won't matter that he's led the Bucs to three consecutive NFC South crowns. The bottom line is the Bucs are in danger of ruining a 5-1 start to the season, and that almost always means a head coach takes the blame. A generation ago, Jon Gruden's time in Tampa Bay ended when the Bucs lost four consecutive games in December after starting the season at 9-3. Is it possible that Bowles and the Bucs will get a reprieve by winning their final three games? Perhaps, but that seems like a tall order right now. And, even then, there will be pressure to win a playoff game after being one-and-done twice in the past three seasons. "We understand what's happening," Bowles said. "We know exactly what's happening. We've got to execute better. If you have to execute better, you definitely have to coach better." The Bucs have now dropped five of their last six games, including back-to-back losses at home to the hapless Saints and Falcons. Two months ago, Mayfield looked like an MVP candidate and Bowles seemed to justify the contract extension he got in the offseason. And now they are one loss away from finishing one of the most disheartening collapses ever seen. As the man said, it's inexcusable. John Romano, Tampa Bay Times, published 12 December 2025