When the Buccaneers got the ball at their own 20-yard line with 38 seconds remaining, trailing the Bills 44-32, Bucs head coach Todd Bowles sent backup quarterback Teddy Bridgewater onto the field to kneel down, ending the game.

As improbable as a comeback win would have been with less than a minute left in a two-possession game, it was an interesting decision for Bowles not to at least try to win — and interesting especially because Bowles has found himself on both sides of criticism about whether or not to keep playing late in what looks like a losing cause.

The most prominent criticism of Bowles came after the Bucs' playoff loss in Detroit two years ago, when the Lions faced a fourth down and the Bucs simply walked off the field and accepted a 31-23 loss to the Lions, rather than calling timeout and forcing the Lions to run a fourth-down play. The Lions probably would have kicked a field goal to effectively seal the game, and even if the Lions had missed the field goal the Buccaneers would've had a tough time scoring a touchdown, making a two-point conversion and winning in overtime, but Bowles was still criticized for not even giving his team that chance.

On the other hand, last season Bowles was also criticized when starting wide receiver Chris Godwin was injured catching a pass against the Ravens, with a minute left and the Buccaneers trailing by 10. Bowles may have been considering the injury risk when he decided not to try to score on Sunday against the Bills.

Most head coaches do things differently. To use other examples from Sunday, the Bengals were still throwing passes with their first-string offense in the final seconds of Sunday's 34-12 loss to the Steelers. The Cardinals were still throwing passes with their first-string offense while trailing the 49ers 41-22 late in the fourth quarter.

There's not always a clear-cut correct choice when trying to mount an improbable comeback, at the risk of an injury to a key player. But Bowles has found himself in that position repeatedly, and made choices that drew scrutiny.