Wife of Buccaneers' Chris Godwin blasts Todd Bowles

Mariah Godwin, the wife of Tampa Bay Buccaneers star wide receiver Chris Godwin, took to Instagram to address a claim made by head coach Todd Bowles regarding why the wideout recorded no catches on only three targets during this past Sunday's 21-18 win over the Carolina Panthers. 

"I’m not sure why we are just blatantly lying here," Mariah wrote, as shared by the JoeBucsFan website. "Regardless of how banged up Chris is, he continues to work his a-- off and hasn’t missed a game. [C]ontinues to run great routes and get open. I don’t know why things are the way they are, this isn’t my team to coach. But this lying on Chris and implying negativity on his work ethic is infuriating. Let’s not act like he had to be subbed out so much more than usual when in fact he’s been playing just the same."

Bowles raised eyebrows when he told reporters Monday that "we were subbing [Chris Godwin] out a lot" against Carolina because the 27-year-old is "probably banged up more than most." Godwin was able to tally a clutch 19-yard touchdown run in the contest's fourth quarter, and JoeBucsFan later found that Godwin participated in 84% of the offensive snaps versus the Panthers. 

Godwin took the field in Week 13 after he was questionable to play because of a neck injury. 

"Stop lying on Chris," Mariah added. "Stop using the injuries (that he plays through!!!) as an excuse for whatever you have going on coaching-wise." 

According to the Buccaneers' website, Bowles acknowledged while speaking with reporters on Wednesday that "we've got to find ways to get [Chris Godwin] the ball." Quarterback Baker Mayfield echoed Bowles' take but also said that "some of the coverages have just dictated where the ball is going" during games. 

Mayfield and Bowles will try to put a smile on Godwin's face when the 5-7 Buccaneers play at the 6-6 Atlanta Falcons this Sunday. Tampa Bay trails Atlanta by a single game in the NFC South standings, and oddschecker listed the Bucs as one-point road underdogs for the massive matchup as of early Thursday afternoon.