One kick that hooked left gave the Atlanta Falcons a chance to tie Sunday's season opener at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and one kick that leaked right allowed the visiting Tampa Bay Buccaneers to escape with a 23-20 win over their division rivals. The Buccaneers won their fourth straight division title in 2024 but lost both head-to-head matchups to the Falcons and barely held Atlanta at bay at the end of the season.
QB Baker Mayfield's 25-yard touchdown pass to rookie WR Emeka Egbuka – Mayfield's third scoring toss of the day and Egbuka's second trip into the end zone – was the difference as the Buccaneers answered a dramatic late score by Falcons QB Michael Penix. Egbuka caught four passes for a team-high 67 yards and those two scores in his NFL debut.
The win gave the Bucs a 1-0 record to start the season and marked the fifth straight year they have prevailed in a season opener. Atlanta falls to 1-0. The all-time series between the two teams is now tied at 32-32.
"It's one game," said Head Coach Todd Bowles. "We're not going to blow a lot of smoke, but it's a big win for us because they fought to the end."
The Buccaneers outdistanced the Falcons in last year's NFC South race by two games, but both head-to-head losses were largely due to the defense being unable to get the late-game stop it needed. The Buccaneers almost suffered a similar fate on Sunday after a lengthy but ultimately unsuccessful goal-line stand.
After gaining a first down at the Buccaneers' 11-yard line with five minutes left in the fourth quarter, Atlanta snapped the ball nine times, included two fourth-down conversions and another fourth-down incompletion erased by offsetting penalties. Penix converted both fourth downs with scrambling dives, first getting a first down at the one on a play that was originally ruled short but overturned. When the Bucs' defense held again, Penix scrambled up the middle on fourth down and just extended the ball to the front of the goal line with his dive. That completed an 18-play, 91-yard drive that was aided by two roughing-the-passer penalties.
"It felt like an eternity that they were down there trying to score," said Mayfield. "But we were looking at the clock situation and we knew we were going to be above the two-minute warning with one timeout left, so we look at that like two timeouts. At least get a good play off on first down, get to the two-minute then gather yourself and go. We were looking to go down and score. It wasn't about getting a field goal to tie it and go to overtime. We were looking to score."
After Mayfield's answering score to Egbuka left 59 seconds on the clock, K Chase McLaughlin surprised hit his extra point attempt off the left upright to keep the lead at three points. Atlanta drove into Buccaneers territory and nearly found the end zone again before S Antoine Winfield Jr. saved the day with a last-second hit on WR Casey Washington. The Falcons then sent K Younghoe Koo out to try a 44-yard game-tying field goal but he pushed it wide right.
"Especially to start the season, it was a little bit bizarre both ways, between the extra points missed and the long red zone periods that occurred. It was just one of the bizarre wins. We played a crazy one like that here last year and came out on the losing end. We came out on the winning end of this one."
The Bucs' offense was missing Chris Godwin and Jalen McMillan due to injuries and Mayfield and his receivers seemed a bit out of sync. After finishing third in the NFL last season with a 71.4% completion percentage, Mayfield completed just 17 of his 32 attempts on Sunday for 167 yards. On one key missed opportunity in the third quarter, what looked like a potential long touchdown pass to TE Cade Otton, Mayfield threw it in one direction and Otton broke the other way. However, he threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to Egbuka in the second quarter for a 10-7 Bucs lead, then hit RB Bucky Irving on a nine-yard scoring pass in the third quarter to make it 17-10.
"I felt like I wasn't really settled in in the first half, to be honest," said Mayfield. "I was the sloppy part of our game offensively. We'll look at the tape and have a lot of corrections to make.
Mayfield also ran the ball five times for 39 yards and converted several important third downs while not throwing any interceptions. Irving gained 37 yards on 14 carries.
With All-Pro left tackle Tristan Wirfs still recovering from June knee surgery, the Buccaneers unveiled a shuffled offensive line that they had kept largely under wraps. Second-year player Graham Barton, a 2024 first-round pick who started at center as a rookie, moved out to left tackle and Ben Bredeson slid from his spot at left guard over to center. Michael Johnson, a late-summer addition who was elevated from the practice squad for the game, filled in at left guard. The results were encouraging, with the Bucs rushing for 101 yards and 4.4 yards per carry and Mayfield taking just one sack.
"I thought the O-Line played unbelievable," said Mayfield. "Some of the pressures were completely on me; I've got to flip the protection. That's on me. Really proud of that group."
Tampa Bay's run defense was strong, holding the Falcons to 69 rushing yards and Bijan Robinson to 24 yards on 12 carries. However, Robinson also caught six passes for 100 yards and a touchdown, taking a short pass on the third play of the game 50 yards to the house. Overall, Atlanta out-gained the Buccaneers, 358 yards to 260. S Tykee Smith led the Buccaneers' defense with 11 tackles, CB Zyon McCollum had 10 tackles and a pass defensed and new OLB Haason Reddick garnered the Bucs' lone sack on Penix.,
McLaughlin's extra point miss followed an uncharacteristic misfire on a 44-yard attempt in the third quarter. Over his first two seasons with the Buccaneers, McLaughlin made 59 of his 63 field goal tries, only missing twice from inside 50 yards. However, the Buccaneers had a lot of success overall in the kicking game. WR Kam Johnson's 54-yard punt return gave the Bucs a short field for their second touchdown and Sean Tucker opened the team's final drive with a kickoff return out to the 37. Punter Riley Dixon averaged 51.3 yards on four punts and downed two of them inside the 20. Johnson's punt return was the longest by a Buccaneer since 2015.
The two teams played to a 10-10 halftime tie in a first half that included a total of 61 plays from scrimmage but none run inside either red zone. Atlanta scored on the opening drive when Robinson took a short pass and sprinted through the Bucs' defense for a 50-yard score. The Buccaneers took a brief 10-7 lead in the second quarter when Mayfield hit Egbuka on a 30-yard, third-down touchdown pass in heavy traffic. Atlanta started fast on offense, with 101 yards on its first two possessions but a fourth-down stop near midfield by Tampa Bay's defense six minutes into the second quarter swung the momentum.
The Bucs won the opening coin toss and elected to defer so Atlanta got the first possession of the game after a 29-yard kickoff return to the Falcons' 35 by Jamel Agnew. Atlanta's first play, a simple slant to Robinson, got an immediate first down at the 45, and Tyler Allgeier leaped over a defender for five yards to the midfield stripe on the next snap. The drive only needed one more play, as Penix checked down to Robinson near the left sideline and the back weaved through defenders all the way to the end zone.
The Bucs got great field position to start their first drive, as Atlanta's kickoff landed short of the 20-yard line and thus the ball was moved to the 40. Mayfield couldn't find an open man on a play-action attempt on first down and had to throw the ball away as he neared the sideline. Two plays later, on third-and-eight, Mayfield tried to hit Sterling Shepard on a deep out but the pass was out of the receiver's reach and the Bucs had to punt. Dixon's kick took a bounce in the wrong direction back to the Atlanta 18.
An offsides flag on Haason Reddick helped the Falcons get started again but Penix's rollout pass to WR Casey Washington was low and incomplete. Robinson dropped a pitch on second down and had to fall on it for a loss of four. However, WR Ray-Ray McCloud broke a tackle after catching a short curl and was able to get past the sticks on a gain of 13. Two plays later, Penix ripped off a pass downfield to Washington to get the ball into Bucs territory. Tampa Bay's defense then forced a third-and-nine at the Bucs' 39 and rookie CB Jacob Parrish reacted very quickly to a tunnel screen and dropped London for a loss of two. The resulting Falcons punt was fair caught by Kam Johnson at the Bucs' nine.
It was quickly third-and-10 after Irving's run off left guard got nothing and Mayfield was chased into another throw-away. Mayfield scrambled up the middle on third down but couldn't evade LB Kaden Ellis and came up five yards short. Agnew returned the resulting punt 11 yards to the Atlanta 38.
The Bucs handled two Robinson runs well, allowing a total of five yards, and Penix was hurried into a high throw on third down, leading to another punt, which former Buc Bradley Pinion angled out of bounds at the nine.
Mayfield's play-action pass attempt to Egbuka was low amid a lot of traffic and fell incomplete. Irving stretched his next run out to the right and got eight yards before being dragged down. Mayfield was rushed off his first read on third down but he slid to his right and found Shepard cutting across the field for a gain of 10. Irving slipped through a gap over left guard on the next snap and picked up nine more, but it was fourth and inches after an incompletion and a run for no gain. The Bucs went for it at their own 37 and surprisingly threw, with Mayfield shaking off pressure to find Evans for a gain of six on a tight-window throw. That play brought the first quarter to a close.
The Falcons jumped offside on the first play of the second quarter but the Bucs followed with a holding call that wiped out most of an 11-yard Irving run and made it first-and-13. Egbuka's first catch went for nine yards and Sean Tucker got two more on a pitch to the right. On third-and-two, Mayfield scrambled again and this time found enough open field to get out of bounds with a first down at the Atlanta 45. Rachaad White got 11 yards on his first carry of the day but the Bucs soon faced a third-and-six at the 30. Mayfield tried to hit Evans on a quick slant but the coverage by A.J. Terrell was very tight and Bowles sent McLaughlin out to hit a 48-yard field goal for the Bucs' first points of the day.
The Falcons' ensuing kickoff got out to their own 29 and Yaya Diaby stunted inside for what appeared to be a sack for a big loss. However, a facemask penalty downfield on Jamel Dean flipped it into a 15-yard gain out to the 44. Haason Reddick broke up a pass intended for London and it was third-and-one after London caught the next ball for a gain of nine. Penix took a downfield shot to London that missed and the Falcons went for it on fourth down. After using a timeout to think it over, the Falcons ran Robinson up the middle and the Bucs' defense, led by DL Calijah Kancey, bottled him up for no gain.
The turnover on downs gave the Bucs the ball back at their own 48 with nine minutes left in the half. Two plays into the drive, Mayfield threw a deep out to Evans for 12 yards to get across midfield, then found him again in front of Terrell for eight more. Terrell then broke up a pass intended for Ryan Miller but Mayfield got a downfield pass over the outstretched arms of a defender and into the hands of Egbuka for a 30-yard touchdown and the Bucs' first lead.
Atlanta had about seven minutes to work with after a return out to their 30 but had to burn a timeout before the first snap over some confusion lining up. TE Kyle Pitts used a stiff-arm to turn a short catch into a 12-yard gain and Penix then got the ball to London for another dozen down to the Bucs' 46. One run each by Allgeier and Robinson added up to three yards. Washington made an impressive catch on third down for just enough to keep the drive moving, but a drop by a wide-open Robinson two snaps later made it third-and-five at the Bucs' 31. Tampa Bay nearly sacked Penix on third down but he escaped and slid down a yard short of the first-down line as the two-minute warning arrived. The Falcons went for it on fourth down and Allgeier gained just enough despite a quick hit from DL Logan Hall. Two short passes were followed by Buccaneer timeouts and Penix's pass in London's direction on third-and-seven was nearly intercepted by Zyon McCollum. The Falcons sent Younghoe Koo out to tie up the game with a 41-yard field goal.
After a kickoff return by Sean Tucker out to the 22, the Bucs had 48 seconds and one timeout to work with. A tunnel screen to Egbuka and an attempted out to TE Cade Otton accounted for just three yards and Mayfield was sacked by rookie S Billy Bowman back at the 17. The Falcons used their last timeout with 18 seconds and the ensuing punt put the ball at the Atlanta 38. Penix tried one deep throw to Washington then took a knee to end the half.
Koo started the second half with a kickoff into the end zone for a touchback that put the ball on the Bucs' 35. Two plays into the opening drive, Shepard went low to catch a 19-yard pass over the middle, and Evans followed two snaps later with a 14-yard grab to the Atlanta 30. The Bucs then faced a third down at the 28 after a five-yard Tez Johnson catch was challenged by Atlanta and overturned. Mayfield threw an underneath pass to White that looked like it was going to turn into a big play but rookie S Xavier Watts was just able to trip the back up from behind. The Bucs sent out McLaughlin again but this time he hooked his 44-yard attempt wide to the left.
The Falcons thus took over at their own 34 and Robinson got around the corner on a sweep left but a holding call erased most of it and made it first-and-16. The Falcons then committed an illegal shift two plays later put the ball back at the Atlanta 27 and erased a big gain over the middle. A pass breakup by Jamel Dean made it third-and-17 and the Bucs pass rush collapsed the pocket and eventually forced Penix to throw it away on the run.
Johnson's 53-yard put the Bucs immediately into scoring range at the Atlanta 32 and Mayfield converted a third-and-six with a 20-yard scramble to the eight. After Irving was stopped for a loss of two on a first-down run, he took a swing pass on second down and sprinted up the sideline, diving to hit the right front pylon with the ball for a go-ahead touchdown at the midway point of the third quarter.
Atlanta started its next possession on its own 29 and opened with an incompletion and a false start. A well-timed out to London by Penix picked up 12 yards to make it third-and-three. The Bucs sent a big blitz on third down but Penix was able to get the ball off to McCloud for a gain of 14 to midfield. Another Penix-London hookup out to the left sideline picked up 12 but was followed by another false start, eventually leading to a third-and-10 at the Bucs' 38. Penix had a lot of time to throw on third down and downfield routes cleared out the middle for an easy catch-and-run by Robinson for 23 yards. Robinson danced for five yards on first down but Allgeier was stood up after just one yard up the middle by Tykee Smith and Lavonte David. On third down, Reddick came up the middle for his first sack as a Buccaneer, leading to a 36-yard field goal that Koo banked off the right upright and in to make it 17-13.
On the ensuing drive, Mayfield converted an early third-and-nine with a gritty 10-yard scramble, which was followed by an underneath handoff to Egbuka for a gain of nine yards. Irving converted a third-and-one with a four-yard power run up the gut but then lost a yard on a screen that Atlanta easily sniffed out. Miscommunication between Mayfield and Otton led to a missed downfield opportunity and forced the Bucs into a third-and-11 and an attempt at a deep crosser to Shepard was out of reach, leading to a punt. Riley Dixon's kick was fair caught at the Atlanta nine.
LB SirVocea Dennis dropped Robinson for a loss of one on first down. Smith broke up a pass over the middle to Pitts but the Falcons challenged the ruling and it was reversed to a catch that converted a third down at the 23. DL Vita Vea then drew a roughing the passer penalty that moved the ball to the 38. The Bucs got a lot of pressure on Penix on the next third down but he just got a pass off to Washington for seven when he needed three. Now just past midfield, the Falcons had their next pass deflected away by a blitzing Dennis but got another 15 yards on another roughing call, this one on Greg Gaines. A 13-yard catch by Pitts got it down to the 11 and Robinson pushed the pile for six yards on first down. A sharp jump-cut on second down nearly broke Robinson free on second down but Antoine Winfield Jr. got him down at the two. Allgeier got the next carry but was driven back a yard by Dennis and David. The Falcons went for it on fourth down and Penix was quickly forced out of the pocket. He tried to scramble for the left pylon but after diving was ruled down short of what would have been a first down at the one-yard line. However, the play was reviewed and reversed, resulting in a first down inside the one-yard line.
When play resumed, Robinson was stopped for a loss of three on a sweep and the Bucs used their second timeout of the half at the 2:35 mark. A second-down pass into the end zone to London was broken up by Dean, and the same was true on a diving attempt by London on third down. That play was also challenged by Atlanta but not overturned. Offsetting penalties erased a fourth-down incompletion but Penix scrambled up the middle on the next snap and this time his dive just got the ball to the front of the goal line.
Tucker gave the Bucs a boost in their comeback attempt with a kickoff return out to the 37, and Evans made a sliding catch over the middle to take the ball within a yard of midfield. A short pass and a near sack left the Bucs in a third-and-nine but Mayfield stood in the pocket under pressure and found Shepard crossing right to left for a gain of 10. Mayfield scrambled and threw the ball away on the next play but a late hit by Ruke Orhorhoro moved the ball all the way down to the Atlanta 25. On the next snap, Egbuka got open downfield and Mayfield hit him in the back of the end zone for the go-ahead score with 59 seconds left. Unfortunately, McLaughlin hooked the extra point off the left upright and the Bucs lead was just 23-20.
An illegal block penalty on the kickoff made Atlanta start at its own 14 but Penix scrambled again and this time found room up the middle for a gain of 12. Penix then found McCloud on the right sideline and he danced up the sideline to the 50, getting out of bounds with 36 seconds left. A pass over the middle to Pitts made it first down at the Bucs' 36 and Atlanta used its last timeout at the 27-second mark. Robinson's sideline catch was good for six yards and he was ruled out of bounds with 21 ticks on the clock. Another Pitts grab took up five seconds and gained a first down at the 26. Penix nearly hit Washington for a touchdown on the next play but Winfield arrived with a big hit at the last second to knock the ball loose. Another crack at the end zone to KhaDarel Hodge was incomplete and the Falcons sent out Koo to tie the game with a 44-yarder. He missed as time expired.
