On Monday night’s ESPN broadcast, Troy Aikman and Joe Buck questioned whether the Tampa Bay Buccaneers should bide the clock and not continue to put their players at risk, as they were down 10 points to the Baltimore Ravens by less than a point. Minute to go.
Then the Buccaneers lost one of their best players to a horrific injury.
Receiver Chris Godwin caught a pass over the middle and had his leg caught underneath him by Baltimore Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith. Godwin didn’t get up and Buck told everyone how serious the injury was.
“Our production truck told me we weren’t going to show the rerun,” Buck said.
Buck called the injury “ugly” and one of the Pirates players could be heard shouting an expletive. Goodwin was placed on the cart with air pouring over his left leg.
After the game, Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles told reporters that he believed Godwin had dislocated his ankle.
“It doesn’t look good,” Bowles told reporters after the game. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, Goodwin will undergo surgery on his ankle this week He will miss the rest of the season.
He was also asked why Godwin was still in the game when the Bucs trailed by 10 points with less than a minute to go.
“We’re just trying to win the game,” Bowles said. “We’re still 10 points down, trying to get extra points, take another penalty. It just happened.
“We have our guys, we’re playing with whoever we’ve got. And it’s unfortunate that he got hurt. We feel bad about it. But he’s a football player, and he wanted to be in the game just like Baker.” [Mayfield] “And everyone wanted to be in the game.”
“It’s unfortunate that he (Chris Godwin) got hurt and we feel bad about that. But he’s a football player and he wanted to be in the game just like Baker and everyone wanted to be in the game.”
– Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles on Chris Godwin’s injury in the fourth quarter pic.twitter.com/qFoYE38Pfq
– NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) October 22, 2024
To be clear, the Buccaneers would have been allowed to attempt a second onside kick had they scored in that situation. Under new NFL rules this seasonTeams are allowed to attempt an onside kick in the fourth quarter if they are down. There is no limit to the number of times a team may attempt an onside kick in the fourth quarter.
The Bulls were then asked if he had an obligation to protect players from themselves.
“I protect my players all the time,” Bulls continued. “It has nothing to do with why we left him in the game. We still had a chance to score some points and win the game. It happens. It happens in football.”
Baltimore won 41-31.
The Buccaneers lost receiver Mike Evans to a hamstring injury in the first half. Then Godwin suffered an injury that seemed likely to end his season.
Godwin was having a stellar year, with 43 catches for 511 yards and five touchdowns in Monday night’s game. He finished with seven catches for 65 yards on nine targets.
The Buccaneers lost the game but more importantly they lost their top two receivers. And in Goodwin’s case, it looks like they won’t be getting back to him anytime soon.
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