Bucs coach launches foul-mouthed rant after Falcons upset
NFL 2025 season: Week 15
BBC coverage: Live text commentary of Sunday's games on the BBC Sport website and app (from 17:45 GMT). Also live radio commentary on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra and BBC Sounds of Detroit Lions v Los Angeles Rams on Sunday (from 21:00).
Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles launched an expletive-laden rant after his team relinquished a late lead to lose at home to the Atlanta Falcons.
Kyle Pitts scored three touchdowns for the Falcons before Zane Gonzalez kicked a field goal as time expired to clinch a 29-28 win.
Pitts, 25, became only the eighth tight end of all-time to claim three receiving touchdowns and more than 150 receiving yards in the same game.
After being one of the NFL's early-season pacesetters, the Bucs have dropped from the top of the AFC South for the first time in 2025, with just three games left in the regular season.
They now have a 7-7 record after losing five of their last six games. That includes back-to-back home defeats in the space of five days to their two divisional rivals who are out of play-off contention.
"It's inexcusable," said Bowles in his post-game news conference. "You've got to [expletive] care enough where the [expletive] hurts. It's got to [expletive] mean something to you.
"It's more than a job. It's your [expletive] livelihood. How well do you know your job? How well can you do your job? Well you can't sugarcoat that [expletive]. There's no [expletive] answer for it. There's no excuse for it. That's what you tell them in the locker room - look in the [expletive] mirror."
"At this point you've seen everything in the season," Bowles added. "The coaches have done everything they can do. This is a player-driven team in the last four or five weeks. You've got to execute, and they've got to hold each other accountable.
"That's not everybody. We're talking about a small, select few, but the small, select few is what's getting us beat."
The Bucs opened the scoring with a Sean Tucker touchdown before the Falcons led 14-13 at half-time after Pitts, who came into Thursday's game with just one touchdown all season, claimed his first two scores.
The home team went into a 28-14 lead early in the fourth quarter after Baker Mayfield made touchdown passes to Devin Culp and Chris Godwin Jr.
Veteran Kirk Cousins was making his fourth straight start after a season-ending injury to Atlanta's starting quarterback Michael Penix Jr and the 37-year-old led the Falcons to the 32nd fourth-quarter comeback of his career.
Running back Bijan Robinson got into the end zone before Pitts claimed his hat-trick and Atlanta regained possession with less than two minutes left.
And despite being backed up to third and 28 after recovering his own fumble and a 10-yard penalty, Cousins made key passes to Pitts and receiver David Sills V to get the Falcons in range for Gonzalez to kick a 43-yard game winner.
Cousins finished with 373 passing yards and three touchdown passes to Pitts, who claimed 166 yards from 11 receptions.
Atlanta are now 5-9 and their upset of Tampa Bay did Carolina a favour as the Panthers (7-6) now top the NFC South and face the Bucs in two of their last four games, with only the division winner guaranteed a play-off spot.
- What must Allen and Bills do to end Patriots' 10-game win streak?
- Colts sign grandfather Rivers, 44, out of retirement