Buccaneers aren\u2019t exactly playing well enough lately to blow out anyone<\/a>, even a mistake-prone Falcons team.<\/p>\nMayfield threw an interception to Alford in the fourth quarter in Falcons territory, shortly after Robinson scored to pull Atlanta to a 28-20 deficit. They went for the 2-point conversion and didn\u2019t get it, which would matter later.<\/p>\n
Atlanta avoided another big mistake when Darnell Mooney fumbled at Tampa Bay\u2019s 10-yard line but somehow three Buccaneers couldn\u2019t secure the recovery and the Falcons got it back. Pitts juggled a pass and it looked like his elbow might have hit out of bounds, but officials ruled that his backside landed in bounds first and the Falcons had a touchdown.<\/p>\n
But because the Falcons had failed on a 2-point conversion earlier, they had to go for another 2-point conversion and Cousins threw incomplete under pressure.<\/p>\n
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The Buccaneers couldn\u2019t put the game away. They had to punt it away. The Falcons got saved on an unusual ruling, when Cousins fumbled but it was ruled that the recovery was simultaneous between the two teams so the offense kept possession. The Falcons kept moving backward, and a holding penalty put them in a second-and-28. On fourth-and-14, Cousins found David Sills for a first-down catch. The Buccaneers not being able to get off the field after Atlanta faced a third-and-28 might cost them a division title.<\/p>\n
The Falcons finished the drive and got a field goal as time expired. If the Buccaneers miss the playoffs, they\u2019ll wonder how Cousins knocked them out of a division title.<\/p>\n
Follow along with Yahoo Sports for live updates, highlights and more as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Atlanta Falcons kick off Week 15 on “Thursday Night Football.”<\/p>\n
Live coverage is over87 updates<\/p>\n
Thu, December 11, 2025 at 5:35 PM PST<\/p>\n
Thu, December 11, 2025 at 8:39 PM PST<\/p>\n
Kirk Cousins: 30-of-44, 373 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INT
Bijan Robinson: 175 yards from scrimmage on 30 touches, 1 TD
Kyle Pitts: 11 catches, 166 yards, 3 TDs on 12 targets<\/p>\n
Baker Mayfield: 19-for-34, 277 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT
Mike Evans: 6 catches, 132 yards on 12 targets<\/p>\n
Thu, December 11, 2025 at 8:37 PM PST<\/p>\n
Thu, December 11, 2025 at 8:36 PM PST<\/p>\n
That\u2019s a mortifying loss for the Bucs, who cede control of the NFC South to the Carolina Panthers. All they had to do was prevent Kirk Cousins from converting on 3rd-and-28, then 4th-and-14.<\/p>\n
Thu, December 11, 2025 at 8:35 PM PST<\/p>\n
The Bucs went up 28-14 in the fourth quarter, then allowed two touchdowns and a game-winning field goal to choke away a vital win in the playoff race.<\/p>\n
The Falcons won despite committing 19 penalties, mostly thanks to superlative nights from Kyle Pitts and Bijan Robinson.<\/p>\n
Thu, December 11, 2025 at 8:33 PM PST<\/p>\n
It will be a 43-yard field goal attempt for Zane Gonzalez to win this.<\/p>\n
Thu, December 11, 2025 at 8:32 PM PST<\/p>\n
David Sills V gets it! Kirk Cousins hits him downfield for a 20-yard gain. The Falcons are in field goal range.<\/p>\n
Thu, December 11, 2025 at 8:30 PM PST<\/p>\n
It\u2019s 4th-and-14 now and the Falcons are going for it with under a minute left.<\/p>\n
Thu, December 11, 2025 at 8:30 PM PST<\/p>\n
And then the Falcons\u2019 19th penalty of the night pushes them back to 2nd-and-28.<\/p>\n
Thu, December 11, 2025 at 8:29 PM PST<\/p>\n
Wow, Haason Reddick gets the ball loose from Kirk Cousins, but the officials call simultaneous recovery, which gives the ball to the offense. Close call for the Falcons.<\/p>\n
Thu, December 11, 2025 at 8:28 PM PST<\/p>\n
Thu, December 11, 2025 at 8:27 PM PST<\/p>\n
Thu, December 11, 2025 at 8:25 PM PST<\/p>\n
The Buccaneers\u2019 next drive goes nowhere and they\u2019re facing 4th-and-14 in their own territory at the 2-minute warning. Against all odds, it looks like the Falcons are going to have a chance to win this.<\/p>\n
Thu, December 11, 2025 at 8:18 PM PST<\/p>\n
Thu, December 11, 2025 at 8:18 PM PST<\/p>\n
Kyle Pitts: 10 catches, 152 receiving yards, 3 TDs on 11 targets<\/p>\n
Bijan Robinson: 93 rushing yards on 18 carries, 1 rushing TD, plus 8 catches and 82 receiving yards on 11 targets<\/p>\n
They have 327 of the Falcons\u2019 426 yards tonight, and only three fewer yards than the Bucs have total.<\/p>\n
Thu, December 11, 2025 at 8:16 PM PST<\/p>\n
The call stands, which is not a popular decision in Tampa Bay. However, the 2-point attempt fails so the Bucs still lead. There is going to be a lot of second-guessing of Atlanta\u2019s decision to go for 2 on the last TD.<\/p>\n
Thu, December 11, 2025 at 8:12 PM PST<\/p>\n
Have a night Kyle Pitts. The tight end hauls in his third touchdown of the night, but it\u2019s under review. This could be close.<\/p>\n
Thu, December 11, 2025 at 8:10 PM PST<\/p>\n
Hoo boy, the Falcons were on the verge of the red zone and got in there on a pass to Darnell Mooney, but Lavonte David rips the ball out. Somehow, the Falcons recover, but that was close.<\/p>\n
Thu, December 11, 2025 at 8:05 PM PST<\/p>\n
Thu, December 11, 2025 at 8:04 PM PST<\/p>\n
Dee Alford picks it off! Baker Mayfield didn\u2019t see him drifting in and suddenly the Falcons have a chance to tie this.<\/p>\n
Thu, December 11, 2025 at 8:03 PM PST<\/p>\n
Falcons up to 18 penalties. Five of them are on A.J. Terrell, who\u2019s having a rough night with Mike Evans.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When the Atlanta Falcons declared Michael Penix Jr. their starting quarterback for the 2025 season, the next obvious…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":343752,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[63],"tags":[1327,1802,15353,3687,172113,31112,172117,172115,172116,10031,172118,172112,1832,46790,31117,349,5284,99,40915,1824,172114],"class_list":{"0":"post-343751","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl","8":"tag-atlanta-falcons","9":"tag-baker-mayfield","10":"tag-bijan-robinson","11":"tag-carolina-panthers","12":"tag-chris-godwin-jr","13":"tag-darnell-mooney","14":"tag-david-sills","15":"tag-dee-alford","16":"tag-devin-culp","17":"tag-george-kittle","18":"tag-godwin","19":"tag-julio-aguilar","20":"tag-kirk-cousins","21":"tag-kyle-pitts","22":"tag-michael-penix-jr","23":"tag-nfl","24":"tag-san-francisco","25":"tag-sports","26":"tag-tampa-bay","27":"tag-tampa-bay-buccaneers","28":"tag-zane-gonzalez"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/343751","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=343751"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/343751\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/343752"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=343751"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=343751"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=343751"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}