Falcons kicker Younghoe Koo hasn’t missed a field goal since a Week 3 loss to Detroit and that was his only miss of the season. On Sunday, the typically automatic Koo missed two crucial field goals in the first half that came back to haunt Atlanta in the end of another one possession loss for the Falcons (6-7) after not allowing a touchdown the previous two weeks.
The win for the Bucs (6-7) and the Saints victory over Carolina created a three-way tie atop the NFC South with four weeks remaining in the season.
After making both field goals in less than ideal conditions during a 13-8 road victory against the Jets last week, Koo’s 50-yard attempt from the friendly confines of the Benz ricocheted off the right upright.
After a safety of Desmond Ridder pushed the Buccaneers lead to 12-10 late in the second quarter, Koo had an opportunity to give the Falcons the lead heading into halftime but he pulled a 52-yarder wide left of the upright as time expired.
“This is a team,” Ridder said. ‘We’ve got to be able to put him in better positions where he’s not kicking important field goals every single time.”
Trying to post their first three-game winning streak since 2019, Desmond Ridder went 26 for 40 with 347 yards. He tossed his ninth touchdown of the season, a 36-yarder to a wide open Kyle Pitts early in the second quarter, but also added his ninth interception to his total. He also contributed a rushing touchdown on a six-yard scramble that gave the Falcons a 25-22 lead with a little over three minutes left in the final quarter.
Drake London had one of his best games of the season, logging 10 receptions for 172 yards. While the rushing attack failed to do any real damage (96 total yards), Bijan Robinson carried 10 times for 34 yards and a score.
After only giving up 73 total rushing yards in a 16-13 victory in Tampa Bay during Week 7, the Falcons’ defense surrendered 148 yards to the Bucs rushing attack. The defense has now given up 100+ rushing yards in five of the last six games.
Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield did enough to keep the game close, finishing 14 of 29 for 144 yards and two touchdowns. He also added a rushing touchdown at the start of the second quarter after the Ridder interception from the Falcons 14-yard line gave Tampa a short field.
Trailing by three with 3:23 left in the game, the Bucs put together a 12-play, 75-yard drive that included a conversion on fourth-and 1 and a 32-yard pass to Chris Godwin on third-and-10 to the Atlanta 15.
Two plays later, Mayfield found tight end Cade Otton as he slipped away from safety Richie Grant to make the 11-yard winning touchdown catch in the back left corner of the end zone.
Injuries continued to hit the Falcons hard as, already missing center Drew Dalman (ankle) and right tackle Kaleb McGary (knee), they lost tackle Jake Matthews to a knee injury in the first half. The Falcons finished with just two regular starters on their offensive line.
Matthews has made 156 consecutive starts, a franchise record, that streak could be in jeopardy.
Atlanta has three of the last four games on the road, beginning with the short trip to Charlotte to take on Carolina (1-12) this Sunday