The Tampa Bay Buccaneers fell to the Atlanta Falcons 29-28 on Thursday night and moved to 7-7 on the season. The Falcons got the ball back after a failed two-point attempt and drove 45 yards to set up the Zane Gonzalez 45-yard field goal as time expired. The Bucs had a chance to punctuate the victory in the fourth quarter after a Haason Reddick sack backed Atlanta into a disadvantageous third-and-28 situation with just over a minute on the clock. Kirk Cousins connected with Kyle Pitts for a 14-yard gain and then the unit converted the fourth-and-14 attempt with a dart to David Sills, moving Atlanta into field goal range.
"Didn't execute," said Head Coach Todd Bowles. "A few guys that didn't make some plays, weren't where they were supposed to be. Inexcusable. Can't happen… Third and 28, you got to be able to play it. It is third and 28. It doesn't matter whether you rush four men, five men, six men, you know where the ball is going, you got to get off the field. It was inexcusable the way we played the fourth and 14."
Offensive Overview
Both Mike Evans and Jalen McMillan returned to action in Week 15, bolstering the offense. Baker Mayfield took advantage of favorable matchups with the pair and completed six passes for 132 yards to Evans and a couple to McMillan for 38 yards. Mayfield's touchdown passes of six yards to Devin Culp and three yards to Chris Godwin Jr. in the second half provided the Bucs with cushion, but too many miscues sealed the team's fate. A Christian Izien forced fumble of Bijan Robinson and an ensuing Jacob Parrish recovery set up the touchdown to Godwin off a faked handoff to Sean Tucker.
Overall, Mayfield completed 19 of 34 passes for 277 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. He was consistently under duress in the Thursday Night Football prime-time clash, as Atlanta posted five sacks. Evans became the catalyst in Week 15 with his 39th career 100-yard performance, and his first since Week 15 of the 2024 season against the Los Angeles Chargers. His 39 career 100-yard games are tied for the fourth-most among active players, trailing only Davante Adams, DeAndre Hopkins and Keenan Allen. Evans moved the chains with his long-striding speed and heroics at the catch point. Evans became a cheat code on out routes/corners and created momentum for Tampa Bay. His 45-yard gain and high-point grab over the Falcons' Cobee Bryant helped spur the Culp touchdown and his 33-yard gain in which he faked the corner route and continued forward on a vertical after the cornerback bit led to Chase McLaughlin's 52-yard field goal. Rookie Emeka Egbuka added four catches for 64 yards to the mix, bringing in several physical grabs to put the Bucs in favorable field position to extend drives.
"Played winning football," said Bowles on Evans. "Played winning football. He cares. He's one of the guys that cares. He gave his heart. He gave his all. Need more guys like that."
Defensive Outlook
Kirk Cousins, who started the showdown for injured signal-caller Michael Penix, carved up the Buccaneers' defense, completing 30 of 44 passes for 373 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. His go-to target was tight end Kyle Pitts Sr., who caught 11 passes for 166 yards and three touchdowns. Pitts took advantage of coverage voids and running back Bijan Robinson added 175 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown. Overall, the Falcons posted 476 yards of offense and converted five-of-11 third-down attempts, in addition to 27 first downs as the Bucs struggled with missed tackles throughout the matchup and could not generate enough pressure on Cousins to speed up his progressions.
The Falcons gave the Buccaneers multiple opportunities to command the game by committing an absurd 19 penalties for 125 yards but the Bucs were unable to impose their will. Antoine Winfield Jr. led the Tampa Bay defense with 13 tackles, his most in a game this season and most since Week 11 of the 2023 season at San Francisco (16). Lavonte David produced six tackles, one pass defensed and one forced fumble. Reddick tallied two tackles (one for loss), one quarterback hit, 1.0 sack and one forced fumble. Reddick's takedown of Kirk Cousins – a strip sack in the fourth quarter – marked his 15th strip sack since the start of the 2020 season, the second-most in the NFL over that span.
