Todd Bowles seemed so confused about Jayden Daniels’ scrambling direction
At a certain point, after both teams got their feet wet, Sunday night’s NFC Wild Card game matchup between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Washington Commanders became an electric duel between Baker Mayfield and Jayden Daniels.
Fresh off an MVP-caliber revitalizing campaign, Mayfield was dealing. He was every bit the elite offensive engine at the helm of a buzzsaw Tampa Bay offense. After likely securing Offensive Rookie of the Year with a dynamic first season in the league, Daniels played with such confidence. His poise as a rookie playing in a road playoff environment was undeniable.
With Tampa Bay and Washington tied at halftime, Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles was asked where his team went wrong defending Daniels in the first stanza. Bowles’ explanation amounted to improving a collective defensive pocket containment where the Buccaneers were falling short as Daniels chose to run and make plays off-platform.
However, Bowles weirdly couldn’t center on which direction Daniels was specifically victimizing his defense. It’s almost as if Bowles was spooked, overthinking a complex solution to stopping a breathtaking young player. Well, that or Bowles just got randomly tongue-twisted like anyone else.
Honestly, regardless of what happened here, the whole interview kinda makes me feel bad for Bowles:
"He keeps getting out of the pocket to his left. To his, our left. His left. I mean, our left, his right."
Todd Bowles on containing Jayden Daniels. pic.twitter.com/QAqYJeDbJh
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 13, 2025
Hey, it happens to the best of us when the cameras are on. Now imagine having to contain your nerves in a tense playoff game with your team’s season on the line. Not easy, huh?
At least Bowles showed he understood the Buccaneers’ main issue: stopping a dual-threat quarterback who was firing on all cylinders.