Score: Falcons 29, Buccaneers 28
Falcons Takeaway: Atlanta Continues to Fight
Entering Thursday’s contest, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank planned to “evaluate the entire football operation at the end of the year.”
With the Falcons already eliminated from playoff contention, the team still went out and played with pride, as well as individual jobs.
Obviously, Blank can still decide to move on from general manager Terry Fontenot and head coach Raheem Morris. However, a strong finish starting with Thursday’s comeback victory has a chance to keep this current setup intact. Clearly, any squad that goes out and plays spoiler against a division rival still shows some promise even during a down campaign.
Winner: TE Kyle Pitts, Atlanta Falcons
The version of Pitts that everyone expected when he became the fourth overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft finally showed up in Year 5.
Pitts emerged as a near-unstoppable weapon against the Buccaneers, with a career-high 11 catches, 166 yards and three touchdown receptions. He became the first tight end with 150 or more receiving yards and three scoring grabs since Shannon Sharpe in 1996, according to ESPN.
The moment couldn’t have come at a better time since Atlanta didn’t have its top wide receiver, Drake London, in the lineup due to injury.
Buccaneers Takeaway: Tampa Bay Continues Downward Spiral
Does everyone remember when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were finding ways to win each week and Baker Mayfield was a leading MVP candidate? Yeah, those days now seem so far in the past that they don’t even feel like they happened during the current campaign.
The Bucs lost five of their six contests since the team’s Week 9 bye. More importantly, Tampa no longer sits atop the NFC South rankings. The Carolina Panthers have taken control without even playing.
Fortunately, Tampa does meet Carolina twice over the final three weeks. But Todd Bowles’ squad must play significantly better in order to make the playoffs for a sixth straight season.
Loser: QB Baker Mayfield, Tampa Buccaneers
No more excuses exist for Mayfield. Tampa Bay’s lineup had all of its stars back on the field. Mayfield still didn’t play well.
Mike Evans and Jalen McMillan both returned Thursday to give the Bucs a full complement of wide receivers and provided the offense with a boost. Still, Mayfield’s ball placement was erratic. He completed under 60 percent of his passes for the fourth time in the last five games.
Furthermore, Two of Mayfield’s last three passes resulted in an interception and a ball thrown slightly behind Emeka Egbuka. Those failed drives were followed by 10 straight points from the Falcons, which won them the contest.
