Bucs' Todd Bowles on not using final timeout: 'Game was over' - ESPN

TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles said his team not using its final timeout in the Bucs' 31-23 divisional round playoff loss to the Detroit Lions was not a matter of coaching etiquette.

Instead, he said, it was recognizing that «the game was over.»

«It's not a gentlemen's agreement,» Bowles said Monday. «They were in field goal range. We'd have had 12 seconds, calculated, after using that timeout to come back from it. Then we'd have been down 11 points, so it's kind of pointless. You kind of know when the game is over. The game was over.»

With the Bucs trailing 31-23, quarterback Baker Mayfield was intercepted by Lions inside linebacker Derrick Barnes with 1:39 to go. Lions quarterback Jared Goff proceeded to take a knee on three consecutive snaps, with his final kneel-down at 37 seconds. Center Frank Ragnow snapped the ball with 14 seconds left on the play clock.

Lions coach Dan Campbell said he was aware that the Bucs had a final timeout left and could have gone down the field.

«Yeah, look, well, first of all, we didn't handle that whole thing well on our end. We should've bled it more than we did,» Campbell said. «Look, I'll be the first to admit that. And that's on me. But yeah, we knew they had a timeout left, and I could tell he wasn't going to call it. And so, that's just — that's how it ended.»

Had Bowles used his final timeout, the Lions could have attempted a long field goal or punted. Bowles assumed the field goal would have been made, but there were no guarantees that Lions kicker Michael Badgley would have made the kick from 49 yards out, as Badgley is 5-of-13 (38.5%) in his career on kicks of 50-plus yards. On kicks of precisely 49 yards out, Badgley is 3-of-4, with his one miss against