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After a stunning loss to the New Orleans Saints in Week 14, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers hoped to rebound against the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday Night Football. However, the Bucs’ awful run following their Week 9 bye continued with another loss to a division rival.
The Falcons embraced the role of spoiler against the Buccaneers. Despite being eliminated from playoff contention, Atlanta fought hard on Thursday night. The Falcons overcame a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit and Kirk Cousins led the game-winning drive, setting up a Zane Gonzalez field goal.
The Bucs have lost five of six games since the bye week. Still, Tampa Bay led the NFC South at 7-6 thanks to owning the tiebreaker over the Carolina Panthers. But Thursday night’s loss dropped the Buccaneers to 7-7 and their playoff odds fell to just 53 percent, per The Athletic.
While there’s clearly reason to panic in Tampa Bay, the team still controls its own destiny. The Buccaneers really just have to win their two upcoming games against the Panthers. If the Bucs can defeat Carolina next Sunday and in the season finale, they’ll win the division and make the playoffs.
But Tampa Bay’s recent struggles make it hard to trust the team to deliver in those must-win matchups. The Buccaneers were unable to put Atlanta away on Thursday night. And they had plenty of help. The Falcons were flagged 19 times for 125 yards in Week 15. Still, they kept coming.
Down 28-20 midway through the fourth quarter, the Falcons scored a touchdown to pull within two points. After forcing a punt, Atlanta got the ball back with under two minutes remaining. Cousins led a nine-play, 45-yard drive and got the team in position for the game-winning kick. Gonzalez hit the 43-yard field goal as time expired, sealing the Falcons’ 29-28 victory.
The Buccaneers head to Carolina to take on the Panthers next Sunday. The team needs to pull out of its skid in the must-win matchup. On the bright side, Mike Evans made his return from injury on Thursday night. And the veteran wideout impressed with six receptions for 132 yards.
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