Sometimes being right isn't so great.
Joe Buck, the play-by-play commentator for ESPN's Monday Night Football, said: The Athletic Tampa Bay receiver Chris Godwin has suffered a severe and likely season-ending ankle injury, proving that the Buccaneers' warnings about prioritizing health over an unlikely win were correct, as he was “not feeling well.” “It's bad.”
“I feel sick that something like this happened,” Buck told The Athletic.
Coach Buck was essentially begging the Buccaneers to delay and eject his players while they tried to fight back during a 41-31 loss. Tampa Bay was trailing by as many as 24 points during the fourth quarter, but a lucky bounce seemed to bring the score closer.
The final drive started with a 10-point lead at their own 25-yard line, and with no timeouts and 1:34 left, it became almost impossible to come back.
“I know this is a 10-point game and I know you're not going to give up on the game, but at some point you want to get out of this and live to fight another day,” Buck said on ESPN He spoke on TV. drive.
Shortly after, Godwin was injured on a 21-yard catch and will be sidelined for at least the remainder of the regular season.
ESPN refused to air replays, citing the catastrophic nature of the injury.
Godwin was taken to the hospital and diagnosed with a dislocated ankle.
“I'd rather be wrong,” Buck continued, reflecting on what happened after the injury. “I wish nothing had happened. Not everyone is different, but Godwin is one of the really great players in the league.”
Buck and the two teams then had to carry on despite knowing that Godwin's season may have just ended, a cruel reality for those in the sport.
“It's too bad for Tampa Bay. What happened here could have changed their entire season. [Mike] Evans went down early with a hamstring injury that didn't look good,'' Buck said on the air. “And because that injury to Godwin wasn't very pretty, we said we would never show our production truck again. We were confident it would work, but it didn't look very good for his lower left leg. Ta.”
Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles defended Godwin being in the game at that point, noting there was a lack of options available since Evans left early with a hamstring injury. did.
“He's a player. We're trying to win ball games,” Bowles said. “We were still down by 10 points and we were trying to get the extra point and take another onside kick. [The injury] It just happened. ”
The Buccaneers will now have to survive without Godwins and Evans, who is not expected to return until after the team's Week 11 bye at the earliest.
Tampa Bay is holding out hope that Godwin can play again if the team advances far enough in the playoffs.
The Buccaneers will host the Atlanta Falcons in a key divisional game on Sunday, but Tampa Bay will have a new offensive line amid a rash of injuries.
