On the ESPN broadcast on Monday night, both Troy Aikman and Joe Buck wondered if the Tampa Bay Buccaneers should run out the clock and not continue to put their players in harm’s way, as they were down 10 points to the Baltimore Ravens with less than a minute to go.
Then the Buccaneers lost one of their best players to a horrible injury.
Receiver Chris Godwin caught a pass over the middle and his leg was trapped underneath him by Baltimore Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith. Godwin didn’t get up and Buck let everyone know how serious the injury was.
“I’m told by our production truck we are not going to show the replay,” Buck said.
Buck called the injury “ugly” and a Buccaneers player could be overheard yelling an expletive. Godwin was put on the cart with an air cast on his left leg.
After the game, Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles told reporters that Godwin is believed to have suffered a dislocated ankle.
“It doesn’t look good,” Bowles told reporters postgame.
He was also asked why Godwin was still in the game while the Bucs trailed by 10 points with less than a minute left in regulation.
“We’re just trying to win the ballgame,” Bowles said. “We’re still down 10, trying to get extra points, kick another onside kick. It just happened.
“We’ve got our guys, we’re playing everybody we’ve got. It’s unfortunate he got hurt. We feel bad about that. But he’s a football player, and he wanted to be in the game just like Baker [Mayfield] and everybody else wanted to be in the game.”
“It’s unfortunate 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 else wanted to be in the game.”
— Buccaneers head 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 the new NFL rules this season, teams are allowed to attempt an onside kick in the fourth quarter if they are losing. There is no limit to how many times a team may attempt an onside kick in the fourth quarter.
Bowles was then asked if he has an obligation to protect players from themselves.
“I do protect my players all the time,” Bowles continued. “It has nothing to do with why we left him in the ballgame. We still had a shot to score some points and win the ballgame. It happens. It happens in football.”
The Buccaneers lost receiver Mike Evans to a hamstring injury in the first half. Then Godwin suffered an injury that looked like it will likely end his season.
Godwin was having an excellent year, with 43 catches for 511 yards and five touchdowns coming into Monday night’s game. He finished with seven catches for 65 yards on nine targets.
The Buccaneers lost the game but more important, lost their top two receivers. In Godwin’s case, it seems they won’t have him back anytime soon.