Buccaneers defend controversial decision after Chris Godwin injury

Injury was added to insult when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost wide receiver Chris Godwin to a gruesome dislocated left ankle with roughly one minute to play in Monday night's 41-31 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. 

Following the defeat, Tampa Bay head coach Todd Bowles defended keeping Godwin and other starters on the field even though logic suggested the hosts had no realistic chance of completing what would have been a comeback for the ages. 

"I do protect my players all the time," Bowles insisted, as shared by Jenna Laine of ESPN. "That has nothing to do with why we left him in this ballgame. We still had a shot to score some points and win this ballgame. It happens. It happens in football."

While one can understand Bowles not raising a white flag, it is worth noting that Tampa Bay star receiver Mike Evans was sidelined earlier in the evening when he seemingly reaggravated a hamstring strain. Thus, one can't blame fans for thinking Bowles should have run the clock out and lived to fight another day to keep Godwin and other key contributors healthy for a winnable game. 

With that said, Peter Schrager of Fox Sports and NFL Network debunked a rumor that had spread on social media when he confirmed that there is no limit to the number of onside kicks a trailing team can attempt in the fourth quarter of a contest. That reality is likely one reason quarterback Baker Mayfield backed Bowles' call to keep playing for the win even though the Buccaneers were trailing by two scores with no timeouts and little time remaining in regulation. 

"We talked about it on the sideline, thinking, 'If we get a quick touchdown -- obviously already got an onside kick during the game -- get a quick touchdown, an onside kick, have a possibility for a Hail Mary," Mayfield said after the loss that dropped Tampa Bay to 4-3 on the season. "We have a group of fighters. We all wanted a chance to try and win that thing any way, some way, somehow."

What's done is done, and Mayfield will have to do everything possible to rally the healthy troops for Sunday's home game against the 4-3 Atlanta Falcons. As of Tuesday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook listed the Buccaneers as 2.5-point underdogs for that matchup.