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Philosophy doomed Bucs.
Why did the Bucs lose to the Patriots today? You could point to a two-minute span when many fans were going to get a beer or use the throne.
Back when legendary coach Bobby Bowden ruled Florida State, he rarely took the opening kickoff when his team won the coin toss. Most folks then, and still today, believe taking the opening kickoff is smart.
Bowden disagreed. Why? His belief was, if you were losing at halftime, you had a chance to get back in the game quickly scoring late in the first half and then after receiving the opening kickoff of the second half.
Also, Bowden believed if a team had a halftime lead and received the second-half kickoff, that team had a chance to pull away with a score.
That’s exactly what happened to the Bucs today, in a bad way, in a 28-23 loss to New England.
New England quarterback Drake Maye connected with Stefon Diggs for a touchdown on the last play of the first half. Then, on the second play of the second half after receiving the kickoff, New England running back TreVeyon Henderson scored on a 55-yard run.
So basically within the blink of an eye, the Bucs went from leading 10-7 to losing 21-10. The Bucs never recovered.
That was a 14-point swing.
That was the ballgame.
Bowden’s theory worked in his heyday 30 years ago. And as the Patriots proved this afternoon, it still works today.