Kirk Cousins threw three touchdown passes to Kyle Pitts to give Zane Gonzalez a chance to kick the game-winning field goal as time expired to give the Atlanta Falcons a 29-28 comeback win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday night.
Facing third-and-28 on the Falcons’ final drive, Cousins completed passes of 14 yards to Pitts and 20 yards on fourth-and-14 to David Sills W to set up Gonzalez.
The Falcons (5-9) overcame a career-high 19 penalties and a 28-14 fourth-quarter deficit to damage Tampa Bay’s playoff hopes.
Statistics Leaders:
falcons
- Passage: Kirk Cousins, 30/44, 373 yards, 3 TDs
- in a hurry: Bijan Robinson, 19 carries, 93 yards, 1 TD
- Receiving: Kyle Pitts, 11 catches, 166 yards, 3 TDs
Buccaneers
- Passage: Baker Mayfield, 19/34, 277 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT
- in a hurry: Bucky Irving, 16 carries, 60 yards
- Receiving: Mike Evans, 6 catches, 132 yards
Cousins, who lost the starting job to Michael Penix Jr. last year. after signing a free agent contract that included $100 million guaranteed, he has owned the Buccaneers since joining the Falcons last season. He is 3-0 against them with 1,158 passing yards, 11 TDs and one pick. He finished this one 30 of 44 for 373 yards.
“Pro Football tests you,” Cousins said. “It keeps me on my knees (in prayer). It’s been a tough two years since I tore my Achilles. All I know is to believe and keep walking by faith and not by sight, and that can be hard sometimes. Nights like tonight, you get a boost.”
Kyle Pitts celebrates after scoring one of his three touchdowns
Baker Mayfield threw a key interception in the fourth quarter as the Buccaneers (7-7) lost for the fifth time in six games and fell a half-game behind Carolina in the NFC South. The four-time defending division champion faces the Panthers (7-6) twice in their last three games.
“This one is going to haunt me. It falls on my shoulders,” Mayfield said. “It’s not the defense’s fault. It’s my fault.”
Wearing their Creamsicle jerseys on the 48th anniversary of the franchise’s first win — it came after an 0-26 start — the Buccaneers were booed off the field.
“You don’t make excuses,” Bucs coach Todd Bowles said in a tongue-in-cheek reaction. “You’ve got to (b)give enough to care where the (bleep) hurts. It’s got to mean (bleep) something to you. It’s more than a job. It’s your (blood) life. How well do you know your job? How well can you do your job?
After Pitts made a leaping, acrobatic seven-yard TD grab with 3:34 remaining to pull the Falcons within 28-26, Cousins was under pressure and threw incomplete on the two-point conversion attempt.
The Falcons forced the Buccaneers to punt and got the ball at their own 30 with no timeouts and 1:49 left.
Haason Reddick sacked Cousins, forcing a fumble that the Buccaneers caught coming out of the huddle. But the officials ruled that both teams recovered the ball at the same time, and the Falcons kept the ball.
Pitts finished with 11 catches for 166 yards, becoming the first tight end with 150 receiving yards and three TDs since Hall of Famer Shannon Sharp did it in 1996.
Mayfield threw a six-yard TD pass to Devin Culp, the second-year pro’s first reception in the NFL to make it 20-14.
On the ensuing drive, Sills dropped what should have been a 44-yard TD catch and the Falcons ended up falling.
Pitts jumps into the end zone on the night of his career
Bian Robinson fumbled on Atlanta’s next possession after hitting Christian Isien, and Jacob Parrish recovered at the Falcons’ 25.
Mayfield fired a three-yard TD pass to Chris Godwin Jr. and the two connected for the 2-point conversion to extend the lead to 28-14.
But Robinson’s six-yard TD run cut the deficit to 28-20 with less than 10 minutes left. After the Falcons missed a two-point attempt, Dee Alford picked off Mayfield’s pass and Atlanta drove 67 yards for the score.
Mayfield had all of his wide receivers available for the first time this season after six-time Pro Bowl pick Mike Evans and second-year pro Jalen McMillan were activated from injured reserve. Evans broke his collarbone on October 20. McMillan broke three vertebrae in his neck in the preseason.
Evans had an immediate impact, catching six passes for 132 yards and drawing several penalties.
Pitts was wide open for his first two TD catches. He caught a 17-yard pass from Cousins to give the Falcons a 14-10 lead with under a minute left in the first half.
Cousins threw an eight-yard TD pass to Pitt to tie the game at 7-7, one play after an offsides penalty on running back Zion McCollum on a field goal handed Atlanta its first loss.
Cousins beat the Buccaneers twice last year in his first season with Atlanta. He threw for 785 yards, eight touchdowns and just one interception. He had 509 passing yards against them in one of the wins.
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