Even in a road win, Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles left fans scratching their heads and shaking their fists. The Super Bowl-winning defensive back and defensive coordinator left AT&T Stadium with a 24-16 win over the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday night, but he made a controversial decision that forced his team to dig a little deeper for its first victory of the season.

Leading 24-10 with 8:36 left in the game and facing fourth-and goal from the 1-yard line, Bowles opted to go for the touchdown rather than kick the chip-shot field goal. One can understand the temptation to run a play under normal circumstances, but the Bucs could have stretched the lead to three possessions and forced an inconsistent Cowboys offense to enter superhero mode, while also forcing a feeble Cowboys defense to get multiple stops.

It is hard to see the upside, and that remains the case following Bowles' postgame explanation.

“We talked about it,” he said, per Greg Auman of FOX Sports. “It being less than a yard, and the way we were running the football, we were trying to put the game away.”

A 17-point lead with less than 10 minutes remaining should have accomplished that very goal. Bowles' rationale is much tougher to justify since it was Sean Tucker who got the goal-line carry. The fourth-year undrafted running back out of Syracuse finished with five rushing attempts for only 18 yards, so he was not one of the men responsible for Tampa's massive night on the ground.

Bowles could have trusted Bucky Irving, who exploded for 165 yards and scored two total touchdowns. A quarterback sneak with Jalon Daniels was also an option. This unnecessary risk was out of character for the generally conservative HC, but it is another move that will draw significant criticism. His seat should remain warm despite this road triumph.

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Todd Bowles did not merely stumble into the W, however. He called an excellent defensive game that limited CeeDee Lamb to just two receptions for nine yards, less than a week after he posted a monster 17-catch, 189-yard effort versus the Houston Texans. But his responsibilities extend beyond one side of the ball.

Hopefully, Bowles will reflect more on the fourth-and-goal gambit before a Week 6 home matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers.