BREAKING: Todd Bowles Faces Growing Calls for His Firing After Buccaneers’ Brutal Loss to Patriots
As one of the handful of NFL head coaches who choose not to employ a defensive coordinator because they’re so good at calling their own schemes, Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles also opens himself up to some added criticism.
While Bowles might be used to it, Buccaneers fans seem destined to an annual dose of Bowles doing something so inexplicable it begs the question of why he insists on calling the defensive plays.
The latest round of criticism came after a 28-23 home loss to the New England Patriots in Week 10 that seemed to fall squarely on the shoulders of Bowles’ defense.
Bleacher Report’s Brent Sobleski singled out Bowles as the team’s “Biggest Loser” after the loss.
“Bowles isn’t just the Buccaneers’ head coach; he’s also the team’s defensive play-caller,” Sobleski wrote on Monday, November 10. “Tampa surrendered three touchdowns of 55 yards or longer and gave up another pass of 54 yards. An aggressive approach is all well and good until the opponent can handle the pressure, as the Patriots did. If Bowles wants to live by the sword, then there will be days when his defense gets gashed.”
Bowles, to his credit, took all of the blame for his team’s defensive failures.
“It starts with me,” Bowles told reporters after the game.
Big Plays Crushed Bucs Against Patriots
Three of the Patriots’ 4 touchdowns came on plays of 55 yards or longer, including the longest pass play of quarterback Drake Maye’s career on a 72-yard touchdown pass to rookie wide receiver Kyle Williams and touchdown runs of 55 and 69 yards by rookie running back Treveyon Henderson.
Henderson finished 147 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns on just 10 carries while the Buccaneers gave up 435 yards of total offense.
It was the kind of performance that left many wondering if the Buccaneers can actually be considered NFC contenders anymore and seemed to cement the NFC South as the NFL’s worst division.
Criticism of Bowles Ramps Up Online
It wouldn’t be an NFL season without Bowles becoming a trending topic online — which happened again after the loss to the Patriots.
X user JV pointed out that Bowles is one of just 3 head coaches left from the 10 who were hired before the 2022 season along with Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel and Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell.
“I genuinely don’t think you can win a Super Bowl under Todd Bowles,” Bucs Wire’s EMT Ashlie wrote on her official X account.
“The Bucs gave up three touchdowns of 55+ yards today,” 10 Tampa Bay TV’s David Schiele wrote on X. “Brutal performance by the
“No Evans, Godwin or Irving I can give you,” Buccaneers fan Geoff Frantz wrote on X. “But a healthy defense giving up 435 yards of offense and 166 rushing of that is inexcusable. That should not happen under Bowles. This team is weak, mentally.”
“I still don’t get why anybody says Todd Bowles is an elite defensive coach,” X user Shot by Ronin wrote. “Their defense has sucked for years! Three big play touchdowns today? No sir. They should have fired Bowles and kept Liam Coen because even their offense looks less explosive than last year.”
Commanders Get Disappointing Injury Update on Former First Round Pick
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Washington Commanders wide receiver Treylon Burks.
The biggest concern about bringing in a player like wide receiver Treylon Burks was how injury prone the former first round pick has been throughout his career.
Now, less than just a month into his tenure with the Washington Commanders, Burks will miss time after surgery on his finger and won’t be available when his team travels to Madrid, Spain, to face the Miami Dolphins in Week 11.
“Commanders WR Treylon Burks underwent surgery today on his finger,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter wrote on his official X account on November 10. “It is not expected to be a long-term issue, but it is enough to knock him out for Sunday.”
Burks has looked good in the 2 games he’s played with the Commanders. He has 4 receptions for 72 yards, including 3 receptions for 58 yards in a 44-22 loss to the Detroit Lions in Week 10.
Rocky Road for Burks With Titans
Burks was a 2022 first round pick (No. 18 overall) by the Tennessee Titans, who waived him twice in the last 3 months.
They put him on injured reserve and waived him after he broke his collarbone on July 26, re-signed him to the practice squad then waived him again on October 7.
The Commanders are without NFL All-Pro wide receiver Terry McLaurin with a quad injury/hip flexor that has cost him the last 4 games. Another veteran wide receiver, Noah Brown, has been out since Week 2.
Burks Part of One of NFL’s Worst Trades Ever
In his first 3 seasons, Burks missed 24 games due to injuries and has career totals of 53 receptions, 699 yards and just 1 touchdown — a touchdown that came after he recovered a fumble by former Titans running back Derrick Henry in the end zone.
Burks’ career has become more notable for being the “worst” part of one of the worst NFL trades of all time when the Titans traded wide receiver A.J. Brown to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for a first round pick they used on Burks.
Since the trade, Brown has been a 3-time NFL All-Pro, played in 47 games with 261 receptions, 4,031 yards and 25 touchdown. He’s also played in 2 Super Bowls, winning one after the 2024 regular season.
In 12 career postseason games, Brown has 41 receptions for 598 yards and 5 touchdowns.
Fresh Start With Commanders Much Needed
Burks, 6-foot-2 and 225 pounds, might just need a fresh start in another city to make good on the talent he displayed at the University of Arkansas, where he was a 3-time All-SEC pick in 3 seasons from 2019 to 2021.
In his final year with the Razorbacks, Burks had career highs in games (12), receptions (66), yards (1,104) and touchdowns (12) while following that up by running the 40-yard dash in 4.51 seconds at the NFL scouting combine.
Burks could still be a really good wide receiver if he’s healthy and he’s outside of the toxic environment that’s been the Titans since the Brown trade.
The Titans were already the first team to fire their head coach in 2025, with Brian Callahan getting the axe on October 14 after a 1-5 start — that’s after going 4-13 in 2024 and getting Miami quarterback Cam Ward with the No. 1 overall pick.
“A.J. Brown finishing with more Super Bowl appearances in Philly than Treylon Burks had career touchdowns in Tennessee is truly remarkable,” X user Brenden Dreeg wrote on his official account.
