What a game. It was a game filled to the brim with stupid moments, frankly astonishing flashes of brilliance, and bewildering decision-making. It did the NFC South proud, and for one shining moment in a miserable
year, it gave us a reason to be proud of our Falcons.
They won the first half narrowly before falling behind by two scores in the second half, the kind of backbreaking deficit they’ve failed to recover from over and over again in 2025. With Raheem Morris and Terry Fontenot under fire, the team’s playoff hopes dashed, and only a chance to play spoiler and show they have fight and something to build on left, Atlanta rallied to score 15 unanswered points and win the game on a Zane Gonzalez field goal as time expired. It was, despite the mountains of frustration throughout, a pretty fun win in the end.
Here’s a drive-by-drive recap of the game you just watched.
1st Quarter
Atlanta actually kicked off first in this one, and the opening kickoff went to around the 35. Bucky Irving took the opening carry for 11 yards. Baker Mayfield then was under pressure and threw it in the flat to Irving, who took it for another first down. Mayfield then had his pass tipped and knocked down by LaCale London. Irving then took it a yard. Mayfield then missed Emeka Egbuka badly on third down. Punt, and the Bucs managed to down it at the one yard line.
On review, the Falcons got it around the six yard line. Bijan Robinson got a yard, and then he spun through contact for a first down. Then Kirk Cousins found Kyle Pitts for a first down. Bijan picked up four yards, and then a quick swing pass to Robinson got an easy first down, and a thrown flag was picked up. Tyler Allgeier turned his first carry into three yards. Bijan was back in on the next play and got five more yards. An Elijah Wilkinson false start then brought things back, and then the Falcons were called for a delay of game. Cousins then hit David Sills well short of a first down. Punt.
Mayfield once again threw it off-target on first down. Irving took it seven yards on second down. On third down, Mayfield was under pressure and got sacked by Kaden Elliss, but A.J. Terrell picked up a very weak call and the Bucs kept rolling. Rachaad White then managed a first down; Mike Hughes was hurt on the play and Cobee Bryant came in. Irving then got a yard. Mike Evans then got his first grab for a first down. Mayfield then badly missed Egbuka again. James Pearce Jr. then got the sack by default as Mayfield dithered in the pocket, was knocked down, and lost five yards. Terrell then got popped for another penalty and tripped on the play, with Egbuka reeling one in. Then Mayfield hit Jalen McMillan over the middle for what was originally ruled a touchdown, but was then ruled down right at the 1. Sean Tucker powered it in to make it 7-0 Buccaneers.
The Falcons settled for a touchback. Then Cousins hit Pitts for nearly 30 yards. Bijan then found a seam and picked up a few yards, but a holding call on Jake Matthews brought it back. Bijan took his subsequent carry for eight yards.
2nd Quarter
Bijan caught a quick pass and juked his way to extra yardage to pick up seven more. Cousins then hit Sills for a first down. Chris Lindstrom then picked up a false start. Bijan got a few yards again, but the Bucs got hit with a holding call to give the Falcons a first down. Cousins, under pressure, dirted it. Cousins then hit Sills again for seven yards. He then threw it away on third down. Zane Gonzalez then just hit his kick to make it 7-3 Buccaneers, but a penalty against the Buccaneers gave Atlanta a first down, so the kick was negated. On the next play, Cousins found Pitts over the middle and he rolled into the end zone for a touchdown. 7-7 tie.
Bucky Irving took the first carry of the new drive for nine yards. David Onyemata then grabbed Mayfield and sacked him, but Terrell picked up his third call of the night on the play to give Tampa Bay new life. Sean Tucker then picked up five yards. Irving then got eaten alive to lose a yard or two on second down. On third down, Mayfield avoided a sack but basically threw it away, with an ineligible man downfield call adding to Tampa Bay’s misery.
After a decent return, Bijan took it about 20 yards, but a Dylan Drummond holding call brought it back. A Kyle Pitts false start then pushed them back five more yards. Bijan gained almost all of that yardage back regardless on his next carry. Bijan then cut his way to a first down. Under pressure, Cousins threw it away on first down. Cousins tried Bijan on the sideline and he reeled in a crazy one handed grab, but he didn’t get two feet down. On the next play, Matthews got hit with another false start. Pitts then took another pass over the middle for 13 yards. Punt and touchback.
Mayfield threw it into the dirt under pressure. A screen to Chris Godwin picked up three or four yards. Mike Evans then made a sideline grab for a first down working against Cobee Bryant. Egbuka then fought through contact for a first down. Mayfield then got McMillan again for a first down, and then Irving got a yard. Then Bryant had a huge hit on Evans to jar the ball loose. On third down, Mayfield got away from multiple tacklers and scrambled for a couple of yards before he was brought down. Chase McLaughlin then hit the field goal try to make it 10-7 Buccaneers.
Bijan took the first down pass for about nine yards, and then picked up a first down. Cousins then found Pitts streaking down the field for a massive gain, and followed that up with a second straight ball to Pitts for a touchdown. 14-10 Falcons.
Mayfield’s first down pass was tipped and nearly picked off by Divine Deablo. Mayfield then badly missed on second down again, but Dee Alford was called for a facemask. On the next play, Mayfield found a wide open Evans downfield as Bryant slipped. Mayfield then just threw it at the ground with three seconds left to set up a kick. That try was nearly blocked but good from 52 to make it 14-13 Falcons.
3rd Quarter
A quick pass to Robinson off play action went for about 15 yards. Bijan followed that up with a four yard gain, but YaYa Diaby got him on the next play for a loss. A false start on Kyle Pitts followed, and then Cousins hit Pitts for about seven yards. Punt, and a hold on the Bucs backed them up ten yards.
Irving got a yard. A quick pass to Godwin picked up seven yards. A quick catch by Irving went for a first down. Egbuka then reeled one in, with Alford just missing making a play on the ball. Then Mayfield took a deep shot to Evans working against Bryant, and while Bryant went up for it, Evans got it for 45 yards. A quick pass to Egbuka went nowhere, but a Bryant facemask gave the Bucs 15 yards. Then Mayfield slipped and Brandon Dorlus got the sack. Mayfield then tried Irving, but threw it way too short. Pearce Jr. deflected it. On third down, Mayfield threw it to Egbuka but it was out of the back of the end zone, but Alford got hit with an illegal contact penalty to give Tampa Bay a fresh set of downs. Tucker got a yard, but Deablo got hit with a facemask and tripping call on the same play. Tucker lost a yard on a tackle by Bryant. Then Mayfield hit Devin Culp for a touchdown. 20-14 Buccaneers.
After the touchback, Cousins threw one off-balance to Sills, who couldn’t come up with it and nearly saw it picked off. Then Bijan caught a pass and turned it into a big first down. Then Cousins tried a bomb to Sills, who saw his defender slip, but Sills dropped one right in his hands. Fortunately, Darnell Mooney scooped up a low pass for a first down. A quick pass to Pitts fell incomplete. Pressured, Cousins just sort of let it slip around of his hands, and it was called intentional grounding. And then Cousins missed Sills low. Punt, and while the punt was muffed, Tampa Bay recovered.
Evans caught another impressive one for a first down. Then Irving got six yards, and then Irving picked up about 16 yards and a first down. After a five yard Irving run, LaCale London got Mayfield. Then Mayfield missed Tez Johnson. Punt.
Robinson got a couple yards. On the next play, Robinson caught it over the middle and fumbled it after a helmet jarred the ball loose, with Tampa Bay recovering. Mayfield got away from a would-be Dorlus sack and hit Mike Evans, who was slow to get up.
4th Quarter
Irving slipped for a minimal gain. Mayfield then missed, but Terrell was hit with pass interference. Tucker then was stopped for a minimal gain. Mayfield then got Godwin for a touchdown and then Godwin again on the two point try to make it 28-14 Tampa Bay.
Cousins underthrew it to Mooney. A quick pass to Bijan went for seven yards. Bijan then caught another one for a first down. Robinson then cut for three yards. A quick pass over the middle to Charlie Woerner picked up another four yards. Then Cousins found Pitts for a first down and about 15 yards. Then Cousins found Sills over the middle, and he ran and leapt his way for about 20 yards. Then Bijan got in untouched for a touchdown; the Falcons decided to go for two but didn’t get it. 28-20 Buccaneers.
Zane Gonzalez missed the landing zone on his kickoff, so the Buccaneers got it at the 30. A quick pass to White went for six yards. Terrell then got hit with a holding all, but a completion to Egbuka led to that penalty being declined. Under pressure from Jalon Walker, Mayfield threw it in the dirt. On the next play, Alford read it all the well and picked it off to give Atlanta the ball back.
Bijan ran for a first down to the outside. Three yards on the ground followed. Cousins was under pressure and threw it for Robinson, who hadn’t yet turned around, for an incompletion. A leaping Kyle Pitts got a third down grab for a first down as Cousins hung in under pressure. Allgeier then got a lane and ran for a first down. Robinson got a yard or two before he was tripped up. Mooney then caught it for a first down, but fumbled it, with Atlanta recovering. Cousins then fired one to Sills, but it was a little too far ahead of him. On the next play, a David Sills false start backed Atlanta up. Then Cousins hit Woerner over the middle to pick up about seven yards. Cousins then threw a rainbow to Pitts, who was falling out of bounds as he brought it in, and after review it was ruled a touchdown. Cousins was hit as he threw and it fell incomplete. 28-26 Buccaneers.
Irving picked up about six yards, and followed that up with two more. Then Mayfield got McMillan for a first down. Irving was then stopped for a small loss by David Onyemata on first down. Mayfield then threw it a little behind Egbuka, who couldn’t reel it in as Alford closed in on him. On third down, Mayfield couldn’t get away from pressure, with Jessie Bates and the cavalry closing in. Punt, and even though he tripped a little, Deven Thompkins got close to ten yards on the return.
Cousins then hit Sills for a first down, and Sills was knocked out of bounds. On first down, Cousins was sacked from behind and fumbled the ball, but the two teams fought to a standstill and Atlanta was rewarded the ball. Cousins then tried to get Mooney, but it was incomplete, and Matthews got hit with a holding call. Cousins then tried Mooney with pressure in his face, but it was short. Pitts caught another one for 14 yards, but that set up 4th and 14; somehow Cousins found Sills again for a big gain. A pair of penalties on Tampa Bay made it first and five, and Mooney picked up five yards and a first down before getting out of bounds. Bijan picked up maybe a yard. Cousins spiked it with four seconds left. Then Zane Gonzalez just got it between the uprights to make it a 29-28 Falcons win.
