Todd Bowles has no doubts about the potentially season-altering decision to have Chris Godwin on the field late Monday night in a game the Buccaneers had virtually no chance of winning.

Godwin suffered what Bowles described as a dislocated left ankle that “doesn’t look good” while trailing by 10 with about a minute left in the 41-31 home loss to the Ravens.

The veteran was taken off the field and there are concerns he may not play again this season.

“He’s a player, we’re trying to win the ball game,” Bowles said. “We were still ten behind. We try to get extra points and make another offside, it just happened.”

Bowles has come under fire for having Godwin on the field late in Monday’s game, as the Ravens had a 99.9 percent chance of winning the game at that point, according to ESPN’s win probability tool.

Some wondered whether chasing that 0.01 percent chance of a win was worth the potential downside, which in this case meant losing one of the NFL’s best receivers for the season.

Bowles explained that the Buccaneers had limited options since Mike Evans went down with a hamstring injury earlier in the game, leaving them with four receivers.

The game wasn’t technically over either, as the Buccaneers had already recovered one onside kick and only needed points on the drive to have a chance to tie or win the game.

Tampa Bay ultimately did not score on the drive.

Bowles downplayed the idea that Godwin should have been suspended for the final drive, as the team may already be without Evans for the foreseeable future.

“You could say that because he got hurt. We have no hesitation,” Bowles said. “We have our guys, we play everyone we have. “It’s unfortunate he got hurt and we feel bad about that, but he’s a football player and he wanted to play in the game just like (quarterback) Baker (Mayfield) and everyone else wanted to play in the game.”

Bowles also disagreed with the idea that he might not be protecting his players even though they wanted to be on the field for that final drive.

“I protect my players all the time,” Bowles said. “It has nothing to do with why we left him in the ballgame. We still had a chance to score some points and win the ball game. It happened. That happens in football.”

The Buccaneers now face the prospect of trying to win the NFC South without Godwin and may have to stay afloat while Evans deals with his hamstring injury.

Godwin ranks first in targets and second in receiving yards in the league.

Bowles noted that the team will see what trade options are available, with the Jets’ Mike Williams known to be one receiver on the trade block, although he doesn’t fill the slot role that Godwin held.

The Buccaneers are 2.5-point home underdogs for Week 8 against the division-leading Falcons in a game that could determine which team wins the division.

“Our prayers are out for him,” Bowles said. “Chris is a great player and he is a great person, more than that. You can’t say much. You feel bad for him. Unfortunately they are not going to cancel the matches and we have to stop and move on. But our hearts are heavy.”