All the allegations the Atlanta Falcons were desperate to beat seem dispelled after the first two drives, when Atlanta went up 7-0 and shut down the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They revived with a vengeance thereafter.
The Falcons were always going to be a work in progress, but the hope was that the talent and the gelling the team did between 2024 and now would lead to a quality Sunday outcome. Despite some late game intrigue where the Falcons drove deep downfield to make it close—and nearly got it—Younghoe
Koo missed a 44 yarder to lose the game for Atlanta. Atlanta must reckon with their play calling, their coverage, and their kicker after absorbing a very tough Week 1 loss.
Here’s the drive-by-drive recap of the game you just watched.
1st Quarter
The Falcons fielded the opening kickoff, and Jamal Agnew took it past the 30 to set things up. Then Michael Penix hit Bijan Robinson on a short route for a first down. Tyler Allgeier took the carry and vaulted over a pile to pick up five yards. On the next play, Penix found Robinson on a short pass, but Bijan took advantage of nice downfield blocks from Kyle Pitts and Casey Washington and his incredible speed and shiftiness to take it 50 yards for the score. 7-0 Falcons.
The kickoff was short of the landing zone from Younghoe Koo, giving the Bucs good field position. Baker Mayfield took off under pressure from Zach Harrison and picked up a couple of yards. A quick Bucky Irving run went for two yards, and then Mayfield missed his third down throw. Punt.
A favorable Falcons bounce put the team at the 18. Bijan’s first down run up the middle went for about six yards, but an offsides on the Buccaneers gave the Falcons five yards and a replayed first down. Penix then rolled out and tried hitting Casey Washington, but it was a little low and Washington couldn’t bring it in. Then a toss to Robinson was fumbled—rare for Bijan—and Bijan fell on it for a small loss. A dart to Ray-Ray McCloud then picked up a first down, and a quick throw to Bijan went for six yards. A big throw to Casey Washington picked up 19 and a first down, and then Tyler Allgeier picked up five yards and lost one on consecutive carries. A quick pass out to Drake London on a screen went nowhere, unfortunately, ending a promising Atlanta drive. Punt, and the Bucs were pinned deep.
The Falcons shoved Irving backward on first down. Then pressure forced a Mayfield throwaway out of the end zone. Mayfield then scrambled up the middle and was stopped by Kaden Elliss. Punt, and Jamal Agnew got about eight yards on the return.
A first down run from Robinson got two yards after he pushed through contact. Robinson then fought through trash for another three yards. On third down, Penix went high to Drake London after London was turned around a little bit by the Bucs cornerback, and he couldn’t get it. Punt, and once again pinned the Bucs deep.
Mayfield then tried a shot to Emeka Egbuka, but he didn’t corral it working against Xavier Watts. Irving then picked up eight yards on second down, and then Mayfield found Sterling Shepard after pressure didn’t get home for a first down. Irving then got blocks up the middle and burst through for nine yards. Divine Deablo then broke up a pass intended for Mike Evans. Irving got hit in the backfield and did a nice job pushing forward, but didn’t convert. Mayfield then found Evans under pressure to get the first on fourth down.
2nd Quarter
A quality run was erased by an offsides call on James Pearce Jr. Irving then rolled out for a first down, but a holding call brought it back. An Egbuka target over the middle turned it from 1st and 13 to 2nd and 4. Then Sean Tucker slipped and fell after a two yard gain. Unfortunately on third down, Mayfield ran and Arnold Ebiketie couldn’t grab him, leading to a first down. Then Sean Tucker took it about five yards, and then another yard from White to follow. Irving was hit for a small loss to make it third down. On third down, Deablo got in Mayfield’s face and tight coverage from AJ Terrell led to an incompletion. The Bucs kick was good. 7-3 Falcons.
Natrone Brooks took it almost to the 30 on the return. On first down on play action, Michael Penix was sacked for a big loss before he had a chance to do much of anything, but a 15 yard facemask call on Jamel Dean erased that and then some. Penix then fired one to London over the middle, but London didn’t reel it in. He went right back to London on the next play, and London got nine yards. Penix then tried London downfield, maybe flag hunting, but there was no call and the pass was a bit too high. On fourth down, the Falcons went for it and it went nowhere, as Vita Vea and company blew up the Bijan Robinson run for a loss. Turnover on downs.
The Bucs kicked things off with a three yard run for Irving. A sideline strike to Evans then went for a first down. Evans was the target again on a seven yard gain. Terrell then broke up the second down pass to Ryan Miller. On the next play, Mayfield threw it over a leaping Falcons defender to Egbuka for a touchdown. 10-7 Buccaneers.
Agnew then took the Falcons to around the 30. A first down throw to Kyle Pitts (after a timeout) led to a 12 yard gain and a nice stiff-arm for Pitts along the way. Then Penix found London over the middle for another 12 yards, and an offsides penalty on the Bucs was declined. Allgeier then took it about a yard or two, and then Robinson picked up a couple of yards up the middle. On third down, Casey Washington came back and grabbed a first down catch for Atlanta. Allgeier then rolled through the middle of the Bucs defense for five yards. Then Penix tried Robinson on a swing pass, but Robinson couldn’t reel it in. Penix then ran away from pressure after evading a sack and slid a little too early to avoid contact, coming up just short of the first down. Allgeier then bullied up the middle for a first down. A quick pass under pressure to Bijan went for four yards after he fought through junk. A quick Penix throw to London went for maybe a yard. The third down pass from Penix was deflected by Vita Vea and almost picked off by Zyon McCollum, though thankfully not. That led to a Youngohe Koo field goal try that was good from 41. 10-10 tie.
KhaDarel Hodge destroyed Sean Tucker on the return. The swing pass to Egbuka picked up three yards on first down. Kaden Elliss then almost intercepted the second down pass. On third down, Mayfield was sacked by Billy Bowman Jr. Punt, and Agnew took it about 15 yards on the punt return.
Penix tried for Washington toward the sideline but missed, and Washington hobbled off the field on the play. Halftime.
3rd Quarter
Bucs got it first, at the 35 thanks to Younghoe Koo’s kick rolling out of the back of the end zone. Bucky Irving took it a couple of yards on first down. A strike over the middle from Baker Mayfield to Sterling Shepard went for close to 20 yards and a first down. Mike Hughes then broke up the next attempt to Egbuka. Another sharp pass over the middle to Mike Evans got 14. Irving then got two yards again. Mayfield then threw one a little too far for Tez Johnson, who got it but didn’t have a chance to take it any further than his five yard pickup. The Bucs then called a timeout, but Raheem Morris threw a challenge flag and the catch was overturned. On third and eight, a quick screen pass might have been gone on an all-out blitz, but Xavier Watts got the nice ankle tackle to save a sure first down and possible score. Then Chase McLaughlin missed the field goal try.
Bijan took the first down carry for a first down, but a holding call on Drake London erased it. A quick pass to London went for three yards. A quick pass over the middle to Kyle Pitts got almost to a first down, but an illegal shift on the offense erased that, too. Penix then fired one toward London that hit a Bucs defender in the hands. Penix avoided a sack on third down and threw it away. Punt, and a 58 yard punt turned into a 59 yard return to give the Bucs great field position.
Atlanta stopped Irving after three yards. On second down, the pass was almost picked off by Watts. Mayfield unfortunately got loose on the next pick thanks to a loss of contain and picked up a major gain to get the Bucs in the red zone. Irving lost a yard on first down with a Divine Deablo tackle. A quick pass from Mayfield to Irving then went for a touchdown, and the Bucs were up 17-10.
With Jamal Agnew hurt, Natrone Brooks handled the return and took the Falcons to almost the 30. Penix mixed his first down throw and it fell incomplete. A false start on Elijah Wilkinson then backed the Falcons up further. Penix then found London for 12 yards. Then Penix found Ray-Ray McCloud over the middle for a 14 yard first down. London then caught another one for another first down. On the next play, Wilkinson got hit with another false start. Bijan then picked up four yards on 1st and 15. A quick throw to Pitts on a would-be screen went for a couple of yards after he fought unsuccessfully through multiple defenders. On third down, Penix hit Bijan for a short pass and Robinson did the rest, picking up about 20 yards. Robinson then took it about five yards. Allgeier then came in and picked up maybe a yard. Penix was then sacked on third down by Haason Reddick. Younghoe Koo was off the upright but got it in to make it 17-13 Bucs.
A decent Tucker return set up a quick Irving run for three yards.
4th Quarter
Mayfield badly overthrew Evans working against Terrell on second down. Then Mayfield again scrambled for a first down, and Egbuka ran for nine yards. A dump-off to Irving was stopped for a small loss by Arnold Ebiketie. Irving then slipped through the line for a first down. A quick pass to Irving then lost two yards. Mayfield then badly missed Cade Otton on second down. Mayfield then badly missed Shepard. Punt, and the Falcons had it at the nine yard line.
Robinson lost a yard on the next carry. A quick pass to Pitts went for five yards after he didn’t get moving forward fast enough, but at least it was forward motion. Another pass to Pitts was ruled incomplete, but Raheem Morris challenged, and the play was reversed for a Falcons first down. Penix threw it as he got rid of it for a near-interception, but a roughing the passer call on Vita Vea gave the Falcons 15 yards. Allgeier then took it five yards, and then two yards from there. Penix then evaded pressure and found a diving Washington for a first down. The first down pass was then tipped and fell to the turf. Penix then found London again for a near-first down, but a roughing the passer call on the Bucs gave the Falcons another 15 yards. Robinson then maybe got a yard on first down. Penix then found Pitts for another first down. Robinson then got a big push with his churning legs and picked up five yards, and then picked up another three on his second down carry. Allgeier was shoved backwards on third down, making it 4th and 1. Penix then couldn’t find an open man and scrambled, but dived short of the first down and end zone on initial call. After a lengthy review, the officiating crew decided that Penix gained a first down and did not fumble. Robinson was hit for a loss on first down. His second down pass to London was broken up, and was a little too low. Then Penix tried London again, but the pass was ruled incomplete again, and held up under review. On fourth down, Penix sat back and tried Bijan, but there was a holding call on the offense and a defensive pass interference on the defense cancelled one another out that made for another fourth down try. And then Penix scrambled up the middle, rolled into the end zone, and extended just enough before his knee went down to get the down. 20-17 Falcons.
Tucker’s return gave the Bucs quality field position after a Koo tackle past the 30. Mayfield hit Evans over the middle for a first down to take us to the two minute warning. Mayfield then hit Irving for what turned out to be a negligible gain because Jessie Bates popped him. Mayfield was hit as he threw and it fell incomplete, with Kaden Elliss hitting him and then James Pearce Jr. hitting him again. Mayfield then got the snap off and hit Shepard for a first down. Mayfield threw it away on first down, but then Ruke Orhorhoro got the pressure and then hit him and earned a roughing the passer penalty. On the next play, Mayfield found Egbuka in the end zone for a touchdown, but McLaughlin missed the extra point. 23-20 Buccaneers.
Natrone Brooks brought it back to about the 24 yard line, but a flag against the Falcons backed them up. Penix scrambled on first down for about 12 yards. McCloud then caught a sideline ball, evaded a tackle, and made it about 20 yards. I blacked out but I think Kyle Pitts got a first down, Bijan Robinson got nine yards after an incompletion, and the Falcons were in field goal range with nine seconds remaining. A review saw that Bijan stepped out of bounds at 21 seconds, making it 2nd and 4. Penix then hit Pitts and he got out of bounds for a first down. Then Penix fired one in to Casey Washington, but Antoine Winfield managed to break the pass up to save a touchdown. Then Penix tried KhaDarel Hodge deep, but either Hodge wasn’t looking up or Penix missed and it was not a touchdown. Younghoe Koo then missed the 44 yard attempt and the Falcons lost the game.
