Falcons escape with another last-second victory over Tampa Bay

The last time Atlanta and Tampa Bay met, earlier this season, a spectacular offensive display led to a dramatic overtime Falcons victory. Sunday’s rematch in Tampa once again ended up coming down to the final play, and once again, Atlanta came out on top, this time with a 31-26 victory.

Once again, Kirk Cousins had a spectacular game against the Bucs, throwing for four touchdowns. On the other side of the ball, the Falcons’ defense largely locked down Tampa Bay in the second half, intercepting Baker Mayfield twice in three second-half series. But a critical fourth-quarter Atlanta fumble and a later missed field goal gave Mayfield a chance to win the game, and he came within a couple yards of a Hail Mary of doing just that.

Storylines abounded coming into the game, starting with the divisional reign at stake. The NFC South has now fractured into haves (Falcons, Bucs) and have-nots (Saints, Panthers), meaning this game — the last crack the two teams will have at each other in the regular season — carried extra importance.

Tampa Bay is also wrestling with the significant loss of its two most potent offensive weapons in wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. Evans is week-to-week, while Godwin is done for the year, and that means the Bucs will need to make adjustments to the all-out aerial attack that sustained them through the season’s first half. Mayfield came into the game with a league-leading 18 touchdown passes, but 11 of those had gone to Evans or Godwin.

The day began on an ugly note for the Bucs, as Rachaad White fumbled two plays in and Atlanta converted that into the first touchdown of the game. But Mayfield quickly adjusted — briefly — to the absence of his two titanic receivers, combining a battering rushing attack with some judicious passing. Tight end Cade Otton caught Mayfield’s first touchdown pass and White his second, giving Tampa Bay an early 14-7 lead in the second quarter.

Atlanta tight end Kyle Pitts caught his second touchdown pass of the day shortly afterward. But the play almost ended in disaster when Pitts eased up at the end of the run and Antoine Winfield Jr. punched the ball loose right as Pitts crossed the goal line.

The play stood, tying the score at 14, and five game minutes later Cousins found Darnell Mooney on a pretty 30-yard touchdown reception. The teams traded field goals in the last minute of the first half, and the score stood at 24-17 Atlanta at halftime.

Both offenses cooled early in the second half. Bijan Robinson extended Atlanta’s lead to 31-17 with a nifty touchdown run as Mayfield struggled, throwing two interceptions. But Atlanta wasn’t able to take advantage of either one, and that would end up costing the Falcons.

A botched exchange between Cousins and Tyler Allgeier bounced back into the Atlanta end zone and out for a safety, and on the ensuing possession, Mayfield guided the Bucs on a masterful 12-play, 73-yard touchdown drive to draw within five points at 31-26 with just under seven minutes remaining.

Cousins engineered a methodical drive that he punctuated with a 13-yard run — his longest of the season by 12 yards. Cousins then converted on a crucial 4th-and-1 quarterback sneak to keep the drive alive. But Younghoe Koo missed a 41-yard field goal that would have pushed Atlanta’s lead to eight.

Mayfield took over at his own 36 with no timeouts, down five points. The Bucs reached as far as the Atlanta 33, but a Hail Mary attempt sailed out of the end zone.

Cousins finished 23-of-29 with 276 yards and those four touchdowns, while Mayfield threw for 330 yards on 50 attempts. His three touchdowns were offset by two interceptions. Atlanta now has firm control of the NFC South, while the Bucs have work to do to get back into the hunt.