In a frightening coincidence, ESPN “Monday Night Football” announcer Joe Buck was questioning the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ decision to continue playing starters in garbage time seconds before Chris Godwin suffered a gruesome season-ending ankle injury.
The Buccaneers were trailing by 10 points with less than 90 seconds remaining in their MNF clash with the Baltimore Ravens. Unfortunately, Chris Godwin suffered a dislocated ankle in a horrific scene after catching a pass from Baker Mayfield.
Per ESPN’s Jenna Laine, Bucs head coach Todd Bowles said Godwin will undergo surgery and is likely done for the season. This terrible development comes three years after Godwin suffered a season-ending ACL tear in a game against the New Orleans Saints.
Several fans on X/Twitter pointed out that Buck and Troy Aikman were criticizing the Buccaneers’ decision to keep their starters in, even though the game was practically out of reach.
After Mayfield took a sack, Buck said, “I know it’s a 10-point game…but at some point you want to get out of here and live to fight another day.” Aikman stated that his former Dallas Cowboys HC, Jimmy Johnson, would aggressively blitz the opposing team if they tried to score in garbage time.
Sadly, Chris Godwin suffered the awful ankle injury on the following play:
Click on ‘Follow Us’ and get notified of the most viral NFL stories via Google! Follow Us
The Buccaneers especially have a strange habit of keeping their starting players in the game during garbage time. They did this aplenty in the Tom Brady days, whether they were on the right side of a blowout or not.
Fair or not, Bowles will continue receiving immense criticism for the decision to keep his star receiver out there. Remember, this happened after Mike Evans left the game in the second quarter, having re-aggravated his hamstring injury that will sideline him indefinitely.
The banged-up Buccaneers will stay home to host the NFC South rival Atlanta Falcons at Raymond James Stadium on Sunday.
Chris Godwin May Have Played Last Game As A Buc
The 28-year-old Godwin is in the final season of a three-year deal he signed with the Bucs in the 2022 offseason. So if he doesn’t end up re-signing with Tampa, that means he already played his final snap with the only NFL team he’s ever known.
