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The Buccaneers lost to the Atlanta Falcons 36-30 in Week 5


The Buccaneers lost to the Atlanta Falcons 36-30 in Week 5

The Falcons got the ball back with 1:56 left in the half and followed an incompletion with an 11-yard curl to London, followed by seven yards to London and five to Robinson. That put the ball at the Bucs' 47 with exactly one minute left. Two more short passes made it to the Bucs' 31 for first downs with 34 seconds left. Whitehead nearly intercepted Cousins' next pass and Hall rushed over the QB, losing eight yards on third-and-18. Cousins' next pass was incomplete, so the Falcons batted it away. With 12 seconds left in the half, the Bucs took a knee to head into the break.

The Bucs had good field position early in the second half after Irving took the kickoff out of the end zone and returned it to the 37. Unfortunately, a holding penalty on T Justin Skule put the offense in a gap they couldn't reach, which led to the Bucs' first punt of the game. The resulting 44-yard kick was fairly caught at the Atlanta 20.

Dean intercepted Cousins' first-down pass, but London got free on the right edge and scored a 31-point lead. Two plays later, CB Zyon McCollum nearly intercepted a sideline pass intended for Mooney, setting up third-and-10. After a quick seven-yard pass, the Falcons went for it in the third, converting Cousins' 14-yard dart to Mooney on the left sideline. That made it the first down at the Bucs' 28-yard line, and a quick out to Pitts two snaps later set up a new set of downs at the 18-yard line. An offensive pass interference call on the Falcons set them back 10 yards, and Nelson brought down Cousins ​​for an eight-yard sack two plays later, making it third-and-22. After an incompletion, Koo kicked a 48-yard field goal, cutting the Bucs' lead to 24-20 with just over six minutes left in the third quarter.

After a touchback, Godwin took a short pass for 20 yards. He fumbled at the end of the game, but Evans fell on it and kept the ball for the Buccaneers. Another pass to Godwin on the right side netted 10 more points, but Irving's next run was fended off for no gain. Mayfield started a scramble on the next snap and the ball was just three feet from the uprights. An end-around to Godwin was just enough for a first down and a late score from JD Bertrand brought it to the Falcons' 14. Three plays later, on third-and-3 from seven, Mayfield was sacked by DL David Onyemata and McLaughlin came out to restore the Bucs' seven-point lead with a 32-yard field goal.

A short completion and pass defended by Smith set up third-and-8 to start Atlanta's next drive, but Cousins ​​found McCloud on a deep dig for 22 yards to the Bucs' 46th. Robinson broke a tackle on the next snap and scored 28 more as the third quarter ended. On first down from the Bucs' 18, Robinson went over right tackle and scored a pick-six, followed by a two-yard plunge in the same direction. The Bucs' defense stopped Allgeier with a two-down third down, but the Falcons tried it on fourth down, rushing the line and scoring on a 12-yard pass to Mooney with 13 minutes left in regulation.

After a touchback, Mayfield started the next drive with a square-in to Evans for 13 yards. Mayfield then dropped back and saw a wide open lane to run 18 more to the Atlanta 39. The Bucs then faced a third-and-9 at the 38 and called a timeout before calling the next play. Forced to scramble, Mayfield gained three yards, then McLaughlin attempted a 53-yarder. He split the posts and made it 30-27 with 10:23 left.

A screen to Robinson was enough for five yards to start the next drive, but his next run only yielded one. David broke up a third-down pass to Mooney but was called for pass interference, leading to a new set of downs. Two snaps later, Cousins ​​took London over the middle to the Bucs' 15-40 yards. A hold call moved Atlanta up 10 yards, and a screen to McCloud only gained four yards. Two plays later, on third-and-six, Mooney dropped a wide-open pass and the Falcons sent Koo off to attempt a 54-yard field goal. Thomas blocked it and gave the ball back to Tampa Bay with 6:29 left.

A five-yard scramble by Mayfield on third down gave the Bucs a first down to start the next drive, and White later converted a third-and-two with a three-yard scramble. Irving started the next play with a seven-yard run, but S Jessie Bates hijacked the ball and Kaden Elliss recovered for the Falcons at the Atlanta 25.

A tackle by Yaya Diaby and a sack by Hall put the Falcons in a third-and-19 hole. A short pass to Allgeier only got four, but the Falcons went for it right after the two-minute warning on fourth down. Cousins ​​attempted to hit Mooney down the right sideline but was intercepted by David, who brought the ball back to the Atlanta 28.

A hold call on the ensuing drive helped the Bucs pull ahead at the Atlanta 43. The ensuing punt went into the end zone and resulted in a touchback.

Atlanta had 1:12 left and no timeouts when they took over at their own 20 yards. Two plays into the drive, Cousins ​​hit Mooney for 17 yards. A six-yard out converted a third-and-one and made it to the Bucs' 43rd line for a first down. McCollum intercepted a pass over the middle with 12 seconds left. A completion over the middle to London and a spike to stop the clock moved the ball to the 29th, and after a penalty delay in the game, Koo drilled a 52-yarder to tie the game and send it to overtime.

Atlanta won the toss early in overtime and quickly fell into a third-and-3. Cousins ​​converted this with a quick pass to London for 18 yards. On the next play, Cousins ​​threw a quick pass to Hodge, who evaded a tackler and sprinted 45 yards for the game-winning score.

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