Buccaneers Coach Todd Bowles Goes For F-Bomb Record After Terrible Loss To Falcons

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers served up 10 terrible minutes of football to snatch defeat from the proverbial jaws of victory against the Atlanta Falcons, and after the Thursday night mess was over, head coach Todd Bowles told reporters what he shared with his team, punctuating the 29-second message with seven F-bombs.

Seven!

(This is a NSFW warning: The video I posted on X of the Bowles presser is not edited, discretion is advised).

Todd Bowles: No Excuses

"It's inexcusable," Bowles said. "We don't make excuses. You got to (effing) care enough to where the sh-t hurts. You got to (effing) care enough where the sh-t hurts. It's got to (effing) mean something to you. It's more than a job. It's your (effing) livelihood.

"How well do you know your job? How well can you do your job? You can't sugarcoat that sh-t. It's (effing) inexcusable. And we had no (effing) answer for it. There's no excuse for it. That's what you tell them in the locker room.

"Look in the (effing) mirror."

I don't know if this is the press conference record for most F-bombs. It's not the most I've ever heard from an NFL coach in the span of a discourse. That one would belong to Jimmy Johnson in 1999 when he was chewing out a colleague. 

But that's another story for another day. (If I get enough emails asking for the story, I'll share).

Tampa Bay head coach Todd Bowles looks on prior to the game against Green Bay. (Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)

Buccaneers Doing Dumb Things

Back to the Buccaneers: 

Bowles is about the most temperate person ever to walk an NFL sideline. Nothing ever makes him lose his cool or his mind. He sometimes offers some pretty interesting moments in press conferences. But he's always under control.

And he was all of that when he delivered this message. He didn't bang the table or motion with his hands or raise his voice. But the message is clear:

He's had enough of his team, talented as it seems, doing stupid stuff to lose games. 

That's happened too much lately because the Buccaneers had a 6-2 record at the end of October. But since the beginning of November, they've lost five of six games, including to the otherwise struggling New Orleans Saints on Sunday and the Falcons on Thursday.

Two horrible losses in four days.

Dec 11, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Darnell Mooney (1) breaks a tackle near the sideline against Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Jamel Dean (35) during the fourth quarter at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Buccaneers Have Failed To Finish

And the thing is, the Buccaneers should have won both games if they could just finish. They certainly could have beaten the Falcons because they led 28-14 with 10 minutes to play and then they collapsed.

The autopsy of that collapse included the Falcons fumbling twice with the football loose amid multiple Tampa Bay players. And the one Falcons player in the vicinity wound up with the football.

The Falcons faced a third-and-28 situation on their final drive. And they gained 14 yards. Then they converted the ensuing fourth-and-14 play before eventually kicking their winning field goal.

On both third and fourth down, the Tampa secondary offered no significant coverage. The receivers were wide open.

Dec 11, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins (18) greets Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) on the field after the game at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

Baker Mayfield Takes Responsibility

It's not just the defense. Quarterback Baker Mayfield threw an interception with over 8 minutes to play, and the Falcons used that to climb within 28-26. And Mayfield was off target on key passes the next drive – one of which would have sealed a victory.

"He should be pissed off," Mayfield said of Bowles afterward. "And, like I said, when we're up two scores, and your offense has a chance to put the game away, and you don't, you can … obviously, people are going to blame the defense. 

"But it's not the defense's fault. It's our fault. It's my fault. And that's how I view it, and that's how I'm going to handle it."

The Buccaneers fell out of first place in the NFC South with this loss. The Carolina Panthers, the new division leaders, will play Tampa Bay twice in their final four games.