Kirk Cousins Truly Owns Todd Bowles
December 14th, 2025
Another Todd Bowles killer.
Did Kirk “509” Cousins kill Todd Bowles’ career? Well, a lot can happen in three weeks. What happens after the season in January is up for debate.
After Cousins (again) torched a Bowles-led defense Thursday night, leading to another galling loss in the team’s 2025 midseason collapse, it’s virtually impossible to believe there won’t be changes of some sort come January.
Whether that’s hiring a new coach, a new defensive coordinator, a new defensive staff or a purge of players this offseason, all options are likely on the table.
Joe cannot imagine a status quo response.
It blows Joe’s mind how Bowles can let a guy like Cousins continually roast his defense. That just screams that Bowles makes little to no adjustments for an immobile guy like Cousins. And the pride of Michigan State is only too happy to expose Bowles’ defense and his inability/unwillingness to make some sort of change or adjustment.
Josh Kendall of The Athletic has the disgraceful numbers of how much Cousins owns Bowles.
Cousins always thrives vs. Bucs
Cousins could play in the league another decade if he only had to play Tampa Bay. He was 30-for-44 for 373 yards and three touchdowns Thursday. In his last three games against the Buccaneers dating back to the beginning of 2024, he has 1,158 passing yards, 11 touchdowns and one interception.
(The boldface line introducing this item should read: “Cousins always thrives vs. Bowles.”)
Cousins has averaged 386 yards a game in his last three starts against a Bowles’ defense!
Barring a Hall of Fame quarterback who thrives against everyone like Tom Brady or Peyton Manning or Dan Marino, what other NFL defensive coordinator gets singed by a quarterback of Cousins’ stature like this?
(Just for fun, Brady averaged 266 yards a game for his career, Manning 270.5, Marino 253.)
Cousins is a formerly good quarterback at the tail end of his career, not a Hall of Famer.
Does Jim Schwartz always get lit up by an above-average quarterback? Vic Fangio? Mr. Clean? Or how about Wade Phillips when he was still working? Didn’t think so.
But this happens time and time again to a Bowles-led Bucs defense. It’s not just Cousins. Rookie quarterbacks, backup quarterbacks (which Cousins is), doesn’t matter.
This shouldn’t be the norm.
Still haunted by Thursday. pic.twitter.com/4uUGjWYGvd
— JoeBucsFan (@JoeBucsFan) December 13, 2025
December 14th, 2025 at 10:05 am
No pass rush without blitzing, and we can’t cover the middle of the field. Damn everyone involved for not doing anything about it this offseason. Thinking SVD and Reddick were going to be the saviors is so comical.
December 14th, 2025 at 10:07 am
And Kancey is our best pass rusher, big he just cannot stay healthy.
December 14th, 2025 at 10:09 am
Joe saw it, fans saw it, and even Stevie Wonder saw it!
December 14th, 2025 at 10:12 am
Fire over confident mistake prone clueless opposing qb loving Bowles! Immediately.
December 14th, 2025 at 10:17 am
I would love to see a passing chart on Cousins last 3 games against us. I’d wager to say 3/4ths of the damage has been over the middle
December 14th, 2025 at 10:19 am
Raheem’s happy. He is out of the hot seat, for now. Let’s see what happens next.
Kirk is the thorn to our side. He hadn’t been playing that well, and then Thursday’s game happened. It feels like a curse every single time.
December 14th, 2025 at 10:19 am
Bowles should get a cut of Kissin’ Cousins future earnings. I said before the game Bowles would resurrect Cousins’ career…and boy did he!
Special needs Raheem was insult after injury. I hope the Falcones retain him. He’s a mastermind and the best man for that job.
December 14th, 2025 at 10:21 am
This is what happens when you force players to fit your scheme instead of adapting your scheme to fit your players. Todd defense too complex.
Same with Grizz. He forces long developing pass plays and running Bucky up the middle. Grizz only comfortable with passing it seems. Should have been running instead of passing on that last series Thursday night.
Fire Todd the first week after regular season ends. Interview Klint Kubiak, Mike LeFleur, Robert Saleh. Get to them before others do. Klint has plenty of play calling experience. AND is a “quarterback whisperer” .
Demote Grizz, he is just too green. And get an HC that runs a 4-3.
December 14th, 2025 at 10:22 am
I mean silver lining, if that game did save Rahs job – that probably only benefits us next year lol
I feel bad for falcon fans that wanted him gone
December 14th, 2025 at 10:23 am
We are giving up about 25 points per game. In the NFC only Dallas and The Giants are worse than us. We are tied with the Commanders in points allowed. Compared to the teams in the AFC only the Titans and Bengals give up more points.
December 14th, 2025 at 10:23 am
Another nail in Bowles’ coffin. He adamantly will not adjust his scheme because he truly thinks it should work and the failures are due to miscommunication and a select few players not caring enough. Cousins is not the only one to own Bowles, you name the journeyman qb and if he played a Todd Bowles’ D, he probably had a career day……. I hope the Glazers are getting a list of HC candidates compiled..
December 14th, 2025 at 10:24 am
lol Mike Lefleur? Are you serious?? You legit think he is getting the boot or wants to leave the surging packers? They just opened their 4 year SB window…
December 14th, 2025 at 10:25 am
“Did Kirk “509” Cousins kill Todd Bowles’ career?” At this point I can’t fathom the Bucs keeping Bowles. The epitome of craziness…Bowles will just keep doing the same thing, running the same outdated, lazy slow defense. No one will hire him. It was a no brainer for me to start Kyle Pitts on my fake team. Even I knew he would torch that crappy defense and I’m just a drunk guy watching from a Barcalounger.
December 14th, 2025 at 10:29 am
Deeboooo, Mike LaFleur is the younger brother of Matt LaFleur. Mike is the Rams OC, Matt is the HC of GB
December 14th, 2025 at 10:30 am
Mike Lefluer; not Matt…they’re brothers. Mike is the OC for the Rams.
December 14th, 2025 at 10:31 am
Todd literally refusing to try anything different against Kirk is the perfect encapsulation of Todd’s idiocy. He’s simply not a smart man.
December 14th, 2025 at 10:32 am
Debooo Matt is GB coach Mike is his brother
December 14th, 2025 at 10:36 am
Why are we cursed with not being able to draft an above average edge rusher since our inception and Lee Roy? One of lifes great mysteries I guess.
December 14th, 2025 at 10:39 am
Let’s see, no pass rush, poor mlb play, poor secondary play. That is how you give up 3-28. the funny thing is it could have 3 -58, and they still would have converted!!!. Yes Bowles deserves blame. However, in preseason your GM knew he gambled on Reddick, with no depth behind him. He knew MLB, was also a gamble with a player , whom had not been seen much. To add to that thrie is no depth behind him. He knew LVD was incapable of being the major force in the middle and needed to be the guy who assisted someone else to be the primary person in the middle. Did he get somebody in preseason no, did he get somebody at the trade deadline no. However, he did tell us Braswell was going to shock the world. My point questionable at major positions and he did not. Coaches can only do so much with people whon don’t have enough talent. ,
The secondary, well I guess you can’t blame anyone for McColumn suddenly throwing in the towel. However, I do think he should have been benched a few games back. He by himself hurt the team. Winfield?, all I can say, as Sapp said you get big money it is a trap, did that happen to Winfield.??
December 14th, 2025 at 10:42 am
So embarrassing to be Bucs fan thx to Todd Bowles ughhh
December 14th, 2025 at 10:45 am
Jeff Says:
December 14th, 2025 at 10:31 am
Todd literally refusing to try anything different against Kirk is the perfect encapsulation of Todd’s idiocy. He’s simply not a smart man**********I think it has to do with his ego, he thinks/knows he is a great man so of course his defense is great as well. When it does not work then therefore it is anyone elses fault.
December 14th, 2025 at 10:45 am
There is nothing more to say about Bowels. He is a failure as a head coach and as a defensive coordinator. By now it has been proven to the whole world.
This coming off season would not be a good time to increase ticket prices.
December 14th, 2025 at 10:45 am
Yup, Mike of the Rams. Klint would be my choice – more experience and has been a Quarterback Coach as well. He designs plays that fit his players strengths and calls the plays that his QBs like.
Doesn’t force them to throw long constantly.
December 14th, 2025 at 10:47 am
How many times does JL have to watch this same old played out movie before he changes the channel? GMs need to be leaders, not following their coach. JL is a follower with a lame duck HC, who most average fans saw the flaws yrs ago while JL sits and watches Rome burn
December 14th, 2025 at 10:52 am
No pass rush for 4 yrs…JL, crickets. ILB depth lacking, JL crickets. HC has annual swoon (and playoff failure), JL crickets. HC falls in love with jag DBs (AWJ, Zyon), JL jumps to resign. What has JL done without BA as HC? And don’t tell me he engineered the BA signing. BA gets what BA wants and JL was the pawn to the path BA wanted
December 14th, 2025 at 10:55 am
Stats are for losers
Well, yeah I guess lol
F’ing Raheem (I like the guy but damn)
December 14th, 2025 at 10:59 am
“… if that game did save Rahs job …”
Not after that stunt that is captured in the photo above. Whatever hopefulness he had brewing was squandered with that pitiful, disgraceful display. Kind of like being on a date with someone out of your league, where she wasn’t really excited but gave you a chance, and it actually started going well, and then right at the end you farted really loud.
December 14th, 2025 at 11:00 am
I would be excited for Kubiac to become Bugs new HC!
Like others have mentioned, Todd Monken would also be a good hire with his resume and his contacts of coaches around the game he could pull from…
I’m just learning of this Mike LeFleur… He has an interesting resume that could greatly improve the Bucs!
December 14th, 2025 at 11:12 am
Bowles is not good. Reddick, McCollum, David, Dean, Hall, Winfield, Diaby, SVD, all not good.
None of them will be on the team next season.
This is not a tinker situation. This is a tear down.
December 14th, 2025 at 11:59 am
If it wasn’t past the trade deadline, the Panthers’ GM would probably have called the Falcons’ GM wanting to trade for Cousins. 😉
December 14th, 2025 at 12:26 pm
yeah kirk cousins gonna talk on nfl talk shows bout this till the day he dies Bucs need to hire kirk cousins for 2026 if Bowles is not fired.
December 14th, 2025 at 2:55 pm
Real question….
If there any QB that doesn’t own Bowles since he became head coach and implemented this super soft zone garbage?
Literally no one comes to mind as someone who Bowles gives a hard time to. There has to be someone, but I can’t think of who they might be.
December 14th, 2025 at 9:00 pm
Time for the defense to MUTINY and ignore all of Bowles’ schemes. No more exotic blitzes. Just cover anyone with a different color uniform. It’s not that hard.