Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles is facing scrutiny for his decision to leave Chris Godwin in the game before his horror late injury against the Baltimore Ravens on Monday night.
Godwin suffered an apparent dislocated ankle in the final minute of the Buccaneers’ 41-31 loss to the Ravens in Tampa Bay, with gruesome replays showing his leg twisted in the wrong direction after he was tackled to the turf.
As his distraught teammates surrounded him, the 26-year-old receiver was eventually carted off the field with a cast on his leg.
Given that the Bucs were trailing by 10 points with just over 50 seconds remaining at the time, many wondered why Bowles had left Godwin, a key member of his offense, in the game when their loss was all but confirmed.
And the Tampa Bay coach was questioned by reporters about that controversial decision in his postgame press conference.
Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles faces scrutiny over Chris Godwin’s gruesome injury
Godwin suffered a dislocated ankle in the final minute of the Bucs’ 41-31 loss to the Ravens.
A reporter asked him: ‘Coach, you are losing 10 points, you have no timeouts, there is less than a minute left (on the clock), you would need a score, an onside kick and another score… why would Chris Godwin in the game at that time?
“He’s a player, we’re trying to win the game,” a defiant Bowles responded. ‘We were still down 10, we were trying to get extra points and throw another onside kick. It just happens.’
When asked if he should have made the decision to preserve Godwin, Bowles said, “You can say that because he got hurt, (but) we don’t doubt it.” We have our guys and we will play against everyone we have.
“It’s unfortunate that he got hurt and we feel bad about it, but he’s a football player and he wanted to be in the game just like Baker and everyone else wanted to be in the game.”
Another journalist then asked: “Do you have an obligation to protect your players from themselves?”
“I protect my players all the time,” the coach responded. ‘It has nothing to do with why we left him in the ballgame. We still had a chance to score some points and win the game. “It happens in football.”
WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT BELOW
Gruesome replays showed Godwin’s leg twisted in the wrong direction after being tackled.
The receiver was left in clear agony as his distraught teammates surrounded him.
Godwin was carted off the field after having a cast placed on his apparently dislocated ankle.
Tampa Bay quarterback Baker Mayfield was seen slamming his helmet on the turf in frustration over the devastating injury Godwin suffered so late in the game.
After the loss, footage emerged of the Bucs receiver not being able to walk at all and being taken to the trainers’ room.
Initial fears revolve around a dislocated ankle for Godwin, with the injury likely ending his season.
He will also become a free agent at the end of this season.
Baltimore defeated Tampa Bay 41-31 and the Ravens almost scored all of their unanswered points thanks to the dominance of Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry.
The Buccaneers had already lost top receiver Mike Evans to a leg injury early in the game.