Atlanta, Ga – The Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost to the Atlanta Falcons in spectacular fashion on Thursday night at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The win ties Tampa Bay and Atlanta at the top of the NFC South, with both teams facing division opponents next week.
Both the Falcons and Buccaneers came together on short rest for this game, each winning over the weekend. The Bucs dominated the Eagles 33-16, while the Falcons edged out the Saints 26-24 with a last-minute field goal.
The Falcons’ Kirk Cousins had a prolific game, going 42-of-58 for a career-high and franchise-record 509 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception. His 509 passing yards tie him for tenth overall in NFL history for a single game.
The first half was full of scoring and highlights. Cousins completed 21-of-28 passes for 253 yards and two touchdowns. He hadn’t played at this level for the first month of his Falcons career. On the other side, Baker Mayfield went 12-of-15 for 131 yards and three touchdowns.
Mike Evans, a Tampa Bay legend, already became the first player in NFL history to record 10 straight 1,000-yard receiving seasons to start a career. On Thursday night, the Pro Bowl wide receiver added to his stellar résumé, hauling in two first-half touchdowns to reach 100 career scores — 99 receiving and one via a fumble recovery.
The Falcons’ opening drive was quick and efficient, covering 70 yards in seven plays and taking only 3:06 off the clock, ending with an 18-yard touchdown to Drake London.
Tampa Bay scored on all four of its first-half possessions, while the Falcons scored on three of five, with a missed field goal and a punt keeping their offenses from perfection before halftime.
The defenses tightened up in the second half, making yards harder to come by. In the third quarter and the first half of the fourth, the only touchdown came when Cousins connected with Darnell Mooney for his second score of the game.
The game had its share of miscues, as most do.
Buccaneers rookie running back Bucky Irving was heading for a first down just before the two-minute warning when Falcons safety Jessie Bates III punched the ball loose, and Atlanta recovered.
Mooney also had a costly mistake in the fourth quarter. On third-and-6, Cousins delivered a nice throw to him, but Mooney dropped it at about the 15-yard line. Younghoe Koo then attempted a 54-yard field goal, which was blocked.
The first half ended with Tampa Bay up 24-17, but the drama continued in the second half.
Atlanta went on an eight-play, 70-yard drive, capped by a 12-yard touchdown pass from Cousins to Mooney, tying the score at 24.
Tampa Bay responded with a six-play, 35-yard drive, finishing with a 53-yard field goal from Chase McLaughlin, putting the Bucs up 30-27.
Atlanta’s hero from last week’s win over the Saints, Younghoe Koo, stepped in and hit a 52-yard field goal to tie the game at 30, sending it into overtime.
In overtime, Cousins led the Falcons on a four-play, 70-yard drive, ending with a touchdown pass to KhaDarel Hodge, who entered the game in place of the injured Drake London. Hodge broke a tackle and scored a 45-yard touchdown to seal Atlanta’s 36-30 victory.
The Bucs leave Atlanta with a 3-2 record, missing an opportunity to claim sole possession of first place in the division. Head coach Todd Bowles will face criticism for his defense’s performance, but he remained matter-of-fact after the game.
“We just have to close out games,” Bowles said. “We had opportunities on both sides of the ball, but we didn’t finish. We did some good things, but we also did a lot of bad things to lose the ballgame. We’ll get some rest, get guys healthy, and be ready for next week. We’ve got a good football team; we just didn’t finish the game.”
“We weren’t where we were supposed to be,” Bowles added. “We missed a lot of plays. We can’t play against the Bucs and the Falcons.”
Mayfield echoed his coach’s sentiments, expressing that the offense should have closed out the game without relying on the defense.
“All I care about is wins,” Mayfield said. “We’ve got to find a way to finish the game on offense. We have to make the plays when they’re there. In the second half, we need to take care of the football and finish drives.”
Tampa Bay’s offense was red-hot in the first half, scoring three touchdowns and a field goal on its first four drives. It marked the first time since 2019 that the Bucs scored 24 or more points in the first half of consecutive games.
The Buccaneers march on to face the Saints in New Orleans on Sunday, October 14th, hoping for a complete game in all phases.
