The Atlanta Falcons were reduced to striving to spoil the postseason hopes of others after being eliminated from playoff contention themselves with Sunday’s blowout loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
They apparently relish the role.
The Falcons put together their most thrilling win of the season Thursday night, beating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 29-28 on a 43-yard field goal by Zane Gonzalez on the game’s final play.
The NFC South matchup — which knocked four-time reigning division champion Tampa Bay (7-7) from the top of the standings as the Bucs’ fifth loss in the past six games — featured a 14-point fourth-quarter comeback, a franchise record for most penalties by the Falcons, a career night from Atlanta tight end Kyle Pitts and multiple game-changing plays late.
For a team that folded in the second half just four days earlier at home, there was no quit from a visiting team missing its starting quarterback (Michael Penix Jr., whose season ended last month due to a serious knee injury) and top wide receiver (Drake London, who has missed the past month with a knee injury).
Atlanta, which is headed for an eighth straight season with a losing record and no playoff appearances, won for just the second time in seven one-score games this season.
“Couldn’t be more proud of the ways those guys stayed resilient and found a way to win tonight,” Falcons second-year head coach Raheem Morris said. “That’s what we’ve been talking about all year.”
WHAT’S WORKING
Playing yet again without London, the Falcons built their offense around Pitts and running back Bijan Robinson, and both of the young players came through. Pitts, the No. 4 pick of the 2021 draft, had career highs in catches (11), yards (166) and touchdowns (3) as Tampa Bay continued to have trouble matching up with him. It was the first time since 1996 that a tight end had more than 150 receiving yards and three touchdown in a game; the player back then was Shannon Sharpe, now a Pro Football Hall of Famer.
Robinson, the No. 8 pick of the 2023 draft, continued a standout season with 93 rushing yards and a touchdown on 19 carries, plus 82 receiving yards on 11 catches. He did have a costly second-half fumble for the second straight game, this one leading to a touchdown for the Bucs. Robinson has now gained at least 175 yards from scrimmage four times this season. No other player has done it more than twice.
WHAT NEEDS HELP
Atlanta’s secondary struggled with the full complement of Bucs receivers on Thursday night. Mike Evans returned after missing seven weeks with a broken collarbone, and he was immediately quarterback Baker Mayfield’s go-to guy. Evans had six catches for 132 yards in his return. Collectively, Tampa Bay’s receivers made 16 catches for 254 yards, mostly against cornerbacks Dee Alford, Cobee Bryant and AJ Terrell, plus safeties Jesse Bates and Xavier Watts. The cornerbacks also combined to commit six penalties, although Alford did come up with a crucial interception in the fourth quarter off Mayfield.
STOCK UP
Atlanta quarterback Kirk Cousins will almost certainly be a free agent this offseason — the four-year contract he signed that brought him to Atlanta in 2024 only had two seasons of fully guaranteed money — and looking for someplace he can return to the top of the depth chart. Thursday’s game will be at the top of his 2025 resumé after he finished 30-of-44 passing for 373 yards with three touchdowns, no interceptions and just one sack. His sack came on the game-winning drive, and he recovered his own fumble in traffic to keep the possession alive. Cousins continued a remarkable three-year run against the Bucs in which he has averaged 32 completions on 44 attempts for 376 yards in four games, with totals of 13 touchdowns and two interceptions in those contests. He is also 3-1 in those games, with the only loss coming as a member of the Minnesota Vikings in 2023.
STOCK DOWN
With London sidelined, the Falcons could use more production out of Darnell Mooney, who is considered the team’s No. 2 wide receiver. Mooney had three catches for 35 yards at Tampa Bay and had a fumble that Falcons center Ryan Neuzil somehow recovered in the fourth quarter at the Bucs’ 10-yard-line. Mooney has averaged only 2.1 catches per game this season, and his production has not increased significantly in London’s absence.
INJURIES
Atlanta cornerback Mike Hughes (ankle) left the game in the first quarter and did not return. He was replaced by Bryant, an undrafted free agent out of Kansas who has appeared in four games.
KEY NUMBER
19: The Falcons set a franchise record for penalties, and they were spread out with 10 in the first half and nine in the second. It was the most in the NFL since 2016. The 19 penalties cost the Falcons 125 yards. The Bucs were whistled for four penalties and 25 yards. Entering the game, the Falcons were averaging 5.6 penalties (sixth fewest in the NFL this season) and 45.4 penalty yards per game (seventh most this season).
NEXT STEPS
The Falcons will wrap up the road portion of their schedule when they face the Arizona Cardinals on Dec. 21. Arizona (3-10), which has also been eliminated from playoff contention, visits the Houston Texans this Sunday ahead of the home matchup with Atlanta.