‘Zero accountability’ – Fans take aim after Todd Bowles torches players as Baker Mayfield hands out blame

Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles blamed his team’s “inexcusable” 29-28 loss to the Atlanta Falcons on his players.

Bowles went on his remarkable rant in his post-game press conference, and it included multiple expletives as he urged his players to “look in the mirror” after they blew a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter.

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“You don’t make excuses,” Bowles said

“You got to f***ing care enough where the s*** hurts. It’s got to f***ing mean something to you. It’s more than a job. It’s your f***ing livelihood.

“How well do you know your job? How well can you do your job? You can’t sugarcoat that s***.”

This is the Bucs’ fifth loss in six games as now they sit half a game behind the Carolina Panthers in the NFC South – a team they face twice in their final three games.

Tampa Bay’s collapse began when the Falcons cut a 14-point deficit to 28-20 on Bijan Robinson’s 6-yard touchdown run with under 10 minutes left.

Then, Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield was picked off by Dee Alford on the next drive.

The Falcons then drove 67 yards for a score before forcing the Buccaneers to punt, and got the ball at their 30 yard with no time outs and 1:49 to go.

37-year-old Kirk Cousins then stepped up for the Falcons as he completed passes of 14 yards to Kyle Pitts and 20 yards on fourth-and-14 to Davis Sills V to set up Zane Gonzalez’s 43-yard field goal as time expired.

Cousins, who is filling in for the injured Michael Penix Jr, finished the game with 373 passing yards and three touchdowns as the Falcons stole the win right at the end.

Meanwhile, Bowles went further in his post-game rant as he reiterated that the blame falls on the players.

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“At this point you’ve seen everything in the season,” he added.

“The coaches have done everything they can do. This is a player-driven team in the last four or five weeks. You’ve got to execute, and they’ve got to hold each other accountable.

“As a coach, you can sit there until you’re blue in the face. Until they start holding each other accountable and doing the little things right — and that’s not everybody, you know, we’re talking about a small, select few.

“But the small, select few is what’s getting us beat. And until that happens, it’s not going to get right.”

Despite Bowles’ clear assignment of where the fault lies, it hasn’t stopped fans from blaming the coach himself for their stunning collapse.

“Zero accountability of himself. A couple f bombs are not gonna win you this fanbase right now. Fire him into the sun,” one fan wrote on X.

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This is exactly what it sounds like when the end is near. The Bucs are cooked. It’s over, folks,” another said.

“If it’s the players every week, it’s a coaching problem,” a third said.

The blame game continued as quarterback Mayfield shouldered responsibility for Thursday’s loss.

“This one is going to haunt me. It falls on my shoulders,” he said.

“It’s not the defense’s fault. It’s my fault.”

Mayfield had all of his wide receivers available for the first time this season after six-time Pro Bowl Mike Evans and second-year pro Jalen McMillan featured.

The Bucs’ chances of winning the NFC South are now in the hands of the Panthers. As if Carolina beat the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, it’s hard to see Tampa claim the division barring another surprise.

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