Despite holding Baker Mayfield without a single passing completion, the Atlanta Falcons lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by double digits on Sunday. For those wondering how something like this is possible, it's actually not that difficult if you turn the ball over four times, allow 300 rushing yards, and fail to score a single point.
The Buccaneers turned in a gritty performance, winning with defense, special teams and an unstoppable ground game. Meanwhile, the Falcons were careless with football, got away from the running game and seemed incapable of making adjustments.
Here are five takeaways from the Falcons' 16-0 road loss to the Buccaneers in Week 8.
Falcons still can't handle playing with expectations
Regardless of whether it's Arthur Smith, Raheem Morris or Kevin Stefanski who's coaching this
team, the Falcons have shown a painfully familiar pattern of playing their absolute worst just as those around the league are starting to buy in. They typically start slow, get hot in the second quarter of the season, crash back to earth in the third quarter, then win some meaningless games down the stretch to finish just barely out of first place in the abysmal NFC South.
Stefanski was mentioned as a Coach of the Year candidate by ESPN after Atlanta took down the 6-0 San Francisco 49ers in Week 7. With a chance to finally get back to .500 and against a two-win Bucs team, though, the Falcons proved they still aren't ready to win with expectations.
Michael Penix Jr. crashes back to earth with 4-INT game
Penix got off to a slow start against the Buccaneers, throwing two interceptions in a rain-soaked first quarter in Tampa. However, this time he failed to bounce back like he has in every other game this season. Penix was out of rhythm, didn't see the field well and threw four interceptions by the time it was over. You can surely put some of that on the weather, but his return to Tampa was anything but a happy homecoming.
Penix won the NFC Offensive Player of the Week after last Sunday's win over the 49ers, so this performance was a big surprise. The Falcons QB is confident he will bounce back, and there's no reason to doubt him. Still it was a rough day for Penix, who completed just 8/24 pass attempts for 125 yards, zero touchdowns and four picks for a passer rating of 12. His last interception came during his season debut in Week 3.
Baker Mayfield beats Stefanski without completing a pass
This was one of the weirdest games that we've seen in some time,. The rain made it tough for both quarterbacks, but the Buccaneers only attempted three passes. Mayfield went 0/3 and spent most of the day running around without much success (14 rushing yards). Much has been made about Stefanski and Mayfield's' prior beef, but the Bucs QB didn't even have to do anything to beat his former coach.
Mayfield just returned from a thumb injury and is clearly still dealing with some lingering effects. Fortunately, for the veteran QB, Atlanta had no answer for Tampa Bay's one-dimensional attack for much of the day. That brings us to our next point.
Buccaneers' two-headed rushing attack outshines Bijan Robinson
The Buccaneers leaned heavily on their ground game and rode it to 324 yards. Bucky Irving, who's been on a tear this season, led the way with 170 rushing yards on 27 attempts (6.3 yards per carry) and a touchdown. Backup Kenny Gainwell rushed for 145 yards on 25 carries (5.6 Y.P.C.), which also kept the Falcons from getting into rhythm on offense.
Obviously, the rain played a factor here as well, but there were too many missed tackles by the defense overall. While they were shorthanded without Divine Deablo, we've seen this unit play miles better than it did on Sunday. Jeff Ulbrich's defense also wasn't done any favors by the team's four turnovers.
Falcons blow chance to take over NFC South
The worst part about Sunday's loss to the NFC South-rival Bucs was that the Falcons wasted a chance to move into first place in the NFC South while essentially burying Tampa Bay. Instead, the Buccaneers are tied with the Falcons at 3-5 and currently hold the head-to-head tiebreaker. Check out the updated NFC South standings below.
- Carolina Panthers (3-4)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-5)
- Atlanta Falcons (3-5)
- New Orleans Saints (2-5)
What's next for the Falcons?
The Falcons will head overseas in Week 9 to Madrid, Spain for an International Series matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals. It won't be easy for a Falcons team coming off such a humiliating loss to a division rival. Perhaps playing an AFC team in a different country will be just what the doctor ordered. However, the Bengals are 5-3 and have won three straight games, so maybe they'd prefer to stay home.
Make sure to set your alarm clocks because next Sunday's game kicks off at 9:30 a.m. ET.
This article originally appeared on Falcons Wire: 5 takeaways from Falcons' ugly loss to Tampa Bay Buccaneers
