Bowles defends the Buccaneers not going for a two-date in the loss to the Chiefs

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles defended his decision to kick an extra point and not attempt a two-point conversion after his team scored a touchdown with 30 seconds left in regulation on Monday night Lost 30:24 in overtime to the Kansas City Chiefs.

“Given the wet conditions on the pitch we wanted to go to extra time, we thought we had to go to extra time instead of going for two. We had our chance. We lost the game,” Bowles said.

The Bucs gave up a 5-yard touchdown to DeAndre Hopkins with 4:20 left in regulation, who then scored to give the Chiefs a 24-17 lead. After the teams traded quick three-and-outs, Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield led an 11-play drive that culminated in a 1-yard touchdown to Ryan Miller.

But instead of going for two, which could have secured the win, Bucs kicker Chase McLaughlin came out.

“We decided on one,” Bowles said. “We made our shots. We had our chances throughout the game. We simply lost the game. That wasn’t the point.”

In Week 9, four teams that scored a touchdown in the final two minutes of regulation opted for an extra point to tie the game. ESPN Analytics modeling agreed with the decision to take the extra point in all four cases. But all four of those teams lost.

The Miami Dolphins tied the game with 1:38 left and then lost to the Buffalo Bills on a 61-yard field goal in regulation time. The New England Patriots tied the game with no time left, then lost in overtime to the Tennessee Titans on a 25-yard field goal. The Seattle Seahawks tied the game with 0:51 left and then lost to the Los Angeles Rams on a 39-yard touchdown pass in overtime. And then the Bucs lost on a 2-yard touchdown from running back Kareem Hunt.

Asked about putting the ball in the hands of the defense, Bowles said: “We wanted to take our hits. We played well defensively. We thought we were moving the ball offensively. We thought we had a good shot in overtime. We don’t have that.” Make the plays.

The Chiefs have improved to 8-2 in overtime games, including playoffs, since 2018, when Patrick Mahomes became the full-time starter, which is the best record of any team during that span.

This was the Bucs' second primetime road loss of the season, with the defense conceding a touchdown on its first possession. The Bucs also lost 36-30 in overtime to the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night in Week 5. Since 2012, when the NFL implemented the regular season overtime rule, under which a team that scores a touchdown on its first possession ends the game, this rule has existed, according to ESPN Research. According to ESPN Research, only four teams have lost multiple prime-time games in overtime: the Cowboys 2015, the Chargers in 2021, the Broncos in 2022 and the Buccaneers in 2024 (all 0-2).

“It's hard. There’s nothing you take away from it except a loss,” Bowles said. “And we can’t get used to losing and that’s the biggest thing. We won't get used to losing “It's not good enough, so we have to prepare for another one next week.”

The Bucs have won the NFC South title the last three seasons and previously beat the Chiefs in Super Bowl LV as a wild card, but now they have lost three straight games and slipped to 4-5 and under .500 for the first time this season.

It started with the 41:31 loss to the Baltimore Ravens two weeks ago, in which receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin were both injured. Miller was called up from the practice squad shortly afterward and Monday night's touchdown was the first of his NFL career. However, against the Chiefs, Mayfield was missing a third receiver in Jalen McMillan, who was not deemed healthy enough to play due to a hamstring injury after the team's pregame warmup.

Mayfield expressed a little frustration as the television cameras zoomed in on him as the Bucs lost the coin toss in overtime.

“Against a team with an offense like that, you can only give them so many chances,” Mayfield said. “You win the coin toss and this happens. I'm proud of our guys on offense who have improved. The coach had a good message… 'We're so close. Don't get used to losing, just turn around.' “We have a home game next week against an NFC opponent and we have to find a way to win.”

Mayfield said nearly eliminating the NFL's only undefeated team on the road was no consolation prize.

“Right now it’s about us,” Mayfield said. “It doesn’t matter who we play. We have to focus on doing our job and finding ways to win. Watch the tape and go from there.