Two Crushing Special Teams Screwups Before Final Drive
December 21st, 2025
An diehard optimist might say the Bucs straightened out their horrific and undisciplined special teams unit that was hurting the team early this season.
Joe can’t say that. Just look at what happened today before the final Bucs drive.
The Panthers kicked off to the Bucs with 2 minutes and 20 seconds remaining after a field goal put Carolina up 23-20. In a brain-freeze move, kick returner Sean Tucker did not catch the kickoff. It bounced near the 2 yard line — inside the “landing zone” — and went into the end zone. That meant an old school touchback was in effect, so the Bucs would get the ball at the 20 yard line.
Catch the damn ball! A typical kickoff this season is brought out to about the 28 yard line.
But it gets worse.
Rookie linebacker John Bullock was called for a personal foul on the play — a play that bounced into the friggin’ end zone. The FOX broadcast cameras caught Bullock head-butting a Panthers player. The penalty, of course, was half the distance to the goal line. So Baker Mayfield and the offense started at the 10 yard line.
What happens if Tucker and Bullock don’t lose their minds on special teams and start at, say, the 28 yard line? Oh, well.
Is there any reason to think the Bucs are a well-coached football team?
December 21st, 2025 at 7:06 pm
Rams fired the special teams coach after Thursday’s meltdown…a move Bucs should’ve done months ago..
December 21st, 2025 at 7:06 pm
Now do the article about Geodeke’s play today, as long as you’re calling out individual shortcomings.
December 21st, 2025 at 7:07 pm
Inspire Change get a new head coach.
December 21st, 2025 at 7:08 pm
FIRE THE PROBLEM.
December 21st, 2025 at 7:08 pm
What a disaster our ST has been….we are so bad in coverage we are gifting teams the 35 yard line to avoid run backs .
December 21st, 2025 at 7:09 pm
They weren’t taught to be this bad in college either not just in the coaches either though this group has rather wreakedof pure t garbage
December 21st, 2025 at 7:09 pm
This team lack quality players
Bullock and Tucker two USDA,
I just don’t see much talent on this team
I see a bunch of mediocre players
December 21st, 2025 at 7:09 pm
There’s absolutely no accountability for anyone on this team, from the players to the coaches.
December 21st, 2025 at 7:09 pm
I’d like to congratulate both of those guys for helping to inch us closer to the inevitable.
December 21st, 2025 at 7:09 pm
I would have cut John Bullock from the team on the sideline after that play.
December 21st, 2025 at 7:10 pm
When was the last time the Bucs ST was an asset to the team and not a liability? Kick and punt coverage has been poor, and even though we have great athletes who should be able to consistently give us a boost on punt/kick returns it doesnt happen. The ST penalties are an abomination.
December 21st, 2025 at 7:10 pm
This is an average team. They seem to get some of these unnecessary flags at bad times. There is at least a few in recent memory. So do other teams though. Its frustrating and it seems like the good teams are the really well disciplined ones.
December 21st, 2025 at 7:11 pm
” Undrafted Free Agents”
December 21st, 2025 at 7:12 pm
And yet MVP Baler had the ball in his hands – good field position, plenty of time, and lost the game. Three weeks in a row. But yeah – it’s the coach, it’s the defense, it’s special teams, it’s Otton, it’s e2 it’s Evans… it’s everyone except the guy with the ball.
December 21st, 2025 at 7:14 pm
Well for one, we have been told Bowles has been coaching this team well on this site for years!
December 21st, 2025 at 7:14 pm
Baker aint closing it out with a chance to win.
December 21st, 2025 at 7:16 pm
I thought Kam Johnson returned the ball pretty well today for whatever that’s worth. The bonehead play by Bullock was bad, but what happened after was MUCH worse.
December 21st, 2025 at 7:18 pm
Lakeland
You’re right. Bud Licht gotta go.
December 21st, 2025 at 7:20 pm
Close the bakery. These turnovers taste like spit
December 21st, 2025 at 7:21 pm
Munch you must also believe Mahomes must go. Dood is done. Move on. what about Dak. What has he done? Missed the playoffs again. Move on. At least be consistent. Your do the same thing you accuse the Baker Bois of. You have infinite patience for certain Quarterbacks.
December 21st, 2025 at 7:21 pm
Worst coaching staff in the league
December 21st, 2025 at 7:22 pm
The NFL average for teams driving to win or tie in the 4th quarter is between 20% to 40%. We were well ahead of that in the first half of the season. We are moving back to the mean. We need to be good enough to NOT need the final drive. Nowhere close to being that good.
December 21st, 2025 at 7:23 pm
The Buc stops with the coach. Bowles is simply over his head. There is enough talent on this team to be competitive. Now they keep losing to non playoff teams week after week. Bucs need a much more competent head coach. Period.
December 21st, 2025 at 7:28 pm
I think it would have been more irritating if Tucker had run it back for 6 only to have it negated by a penalty. I was listening to the Panthers radio, and the commentators mentioned that the local fans had been primed that this reffing crew was going to throw a lot of flags and the fans should be ready to react negatively vocally if there were any (dubious) calls against the home team.
The difficult part for me was that even if the Bucs had come up with a winning drive, I would have had two more weeks of this tension. So, I’m pretty much in the same boat either way, although it would be a little nicer to have a little wiggle room.
December 21st, 2025 at 7:29 pm
@ Rod ButtMunch, if you think Baker is the problem, who have we had better outside of Brady in a long, long, long time? How long have you been watching this Franchise?
December 21st, 2025 at 7:30 pm
Baker ,when he was allowed to throw, hit Ebuka deep from about the Bucs 10 yard line. With just a little luck Ebuka slips the tacker and takes it to the end zone. Beautiful pass on a deep ball. One of the few times Baker had time to step up in pocket.
December 21st, 2025 at 7:31 pm
Fire Bowles and his coaching staff!
December 21st, 2025 at 7:32 pm
Todd Bowles sweatshirt says” Inspire Change”
Buddy, I think you have indeed “Inspired Change”
December 21st, 2025 at 7:33 pm
The Panthers were blitzing on virtually every play late in the game. You would think Grizzard would have seen that and called a quick slant or shot over the middle. No, Baker was left to fend off a 6 on 5 rush from the Panthers.
December 21st, 2025 at 7:37 pm
BUT BUT BUT- we WON time of possession! We had possession of the ball for 2/3 rds of a quarter more than the Panthers! Todd got his wish. Play not to lose. If the Glazers don’t launch Todd after this debacle I’m gone. Horrible game plan on offense and it HAD to be on Todd’s orders. Grizz is far from the best OC out there but a high school coach would have taken advantage of the weapons we have. A Yale graduate should be able to see what we see from our comfy couches. A LOT of people can be blamed for us sucking but the common denominator is Todd. It should never have come down to needing a miracle come back to win. This teams leadership is burnt toast. Everyone can see it and smell it. Come on Glazers!
December 21st, 2025 at 7:38 pm
No matter how you look at it, the Bucs are a bad team. All I want for Xmas is a winning Bucs team
December 21st, 2025 at 7:43 pm
Its easy to point fingers after all these stacking losses. I do my fair share of it as well thinking somehow it’s going to change something. Just another tough loss to a division opponent. I wait all year for Bucs football and cold weather. It’s not cold and the team is below average.
December 21st, 2025 at 7:55 pm
Marky mark Says:
December 21st, 2025 at 7:21 pm
Munch you must also believe Mahomes must go.
——–
The fact you compare Baker to Mahomes is a mental disorder.
December 21st, 2025 at 7:57 pm
Nprbuc Says:
December 21st, 2025 at 7:37 pm
BUT BUT BUT- we WON time of possession!
———
We also dominated on the ground outgaining the Panthers by nearly 70-yards!
Basically it was a perfect game, outside of the score.
December 21st, 2025 at 7:59 pm
“When was the last time the Bucs ST was an asset to the team and not a liability?“
Well Chase McLaughlin earns his money weekly, and we had some good returns today. Might wanna be more specific instead of trying to paint all of our ST units with the same brush, which is rampant within this fan base.
December 21st, 2025 at 8:08 pm
This is what happens when you don’t have accountability and keep a horrible sp teams coach. The Raiders and Rams fired theirs.
December 21st, 2025 at 8:10 pm
Blah, blah, blah…the entire coaching staff needs to be fired!
December 21st, 2025 at 8:22 pm
Rod Munch, give it a rest. Baker is like problem 8 on the list.
He had the clutch in him the first 3 weeks.
Last week was brutal and can’t defend Baker. This week, I blame Evans and the OL as much as Baker there.
Fact of it is… last week and this week, if we had competent coaching and strategy, Baker isn’t in that position to have to throw to win the game. Josh Allen threw for 130 yards today and no TDs but the Bills won cause they don’t need him to be Superman every week.
December 21st, 2025 at 8:23 pm
Maybe the glazers should do what is on Todd Bowels sweatshirt in this pic! We would all inspire change! Change of coach! Lol
December 21st, 2025 at 8:27 pm
Tells me all I need to know. We kickoff and give them the ball at the 35. No chance to knock a fumble loose. Maybe make a tackle at the 20. Coach Bowles must be coordinating the special teams also. Wonder if he is the one who decided to give the ball to the other team at the 35 every single time we score. Damn, they kicked it off to us with 2 minutes left and stuck us back on our 10 yard line. This team is in a shambles.
December 21st, 2025 at 8:38 pm
We have certainly seen over the last couple of months that Baker is no 50M QB. Maybe 25M-30M.