How many ways can a team give a game away? Let's count the miscues In the end, the lasting image will be cornerback Zyon McCollum missing a tackle of Falcons receiver KhaDarel Hodge, who took a short pass from Kirk Cousins 45 yards to the end zone for the winning touchdown three plays into overtime. But a lot of players let Thursday night's game slip from the Bucs' grasp. So many fingerprints were on the 36-30 loss to the Falcons. Most of them belonged to the defense, which was torched by Cousins, who passed for 509 yards and four touchdowns. Although he was outshone, Baker Mayfield had a good night, passing for 180 yards and three TDs while the Bucs rushed for 160 yards, including Rachaad White's 56-yard run. The Bucs took the lead 30-27 with 10:23 remaining on Chase McLaughlin's 53-yard field goal. About that time, the video board at Mercedes-Benz Stadium showed rapper/actor Ludacris in the seats. And ludicrous was the ending to this game. How many ways did the Bucs give this one away? Let's roll the tape. The Bucs led four different times and blew them all. With 6:29 remaining in the game, Tavierre Thomas blocked Younghoe Koo's 54-yard field goal attempt and the Bucs took over at their own 44. They converted one first down before rookie running back Bucky Irving was stripped of the ball by Falcons safety Jessie Bates and linebacker Kaden Elliss recovered at the Atlanta 25. "It happens," Todd Bowles said. "He fumbled and we've got to play defense. He's going to be a part of the game. He's one of our better players. We give him the ball every time and hope he comes through. In this case, he fumbled the ball and the defense has got to hold them. It's a team effort." But wait. After the two-minute warning, the Falcons tried for one last gasp on fourth and 15 and Lavonte David appeared to seal the game with his interception at the Atlanta 28. A holding penalty on rookie center Graham Barton helped push the Bucs out of field-goal range and Atlanta burned its timeouts. You would think a good punt there by Trenton Gill would pin the Falcons back and make a comeback nearly impossible. But wait. Gill punted the ball through the end zone for a touchback. Cousins went to work, completing six passes against the Bucs' porous defense to move the ball to the Tampa Bay 29-yard line, spiking the ball with one second remaining. A delay-of-game penalty on the Falcons moved the ball back 5 yards, forcing Koo to connect on a 52-yard field goal to tie the score in regulation and send it to overtime. Did David think his pick wrapped up the win? "The game is never over," David said. "When there's time on the clock, it's never over. We had a chance to close out the game defensively and didn't do it. They made more plays than we did. You have to make plays." One play the Falcons made was winning the coin toss in overtime. They took the ball, the game and the Bucs' soul. You just knew what would happen next. The defense that would give up a whopping 550 yards of offense had no chance. Cousins needed only four plays to get the Falcons in the end zone. After a short completion to running back Tyler Allgeier, he connected with receiver Drake London on passes of 6 and 18 yards to the Tampa Bay 45. You could say the Bucs offense didn't keep its foot on the gas in the second half. Kicking field goals is not the way to put away a team on the road. "They made some adjustments, but we missed a lot of plays, too," Bowles said. This one is going to sting for a while. The Bucs have 10 days to live with the awful feeling of giving a game away. They could have been 4-1 and now they are tied with the Falcons at 3-2 with their next game at New Orleans. Remember, a year ago, the Bucs started 3-1 and then lost six of their next seven games. Nothing will come easy. The first order of business will be getting some players back, especially on defense. They need Calijah Kancey to pair with Vita Vea, who had another sack Thursday. They need Logan Hall, who had two sacks against Atlanta, to keep producing. They really need All-Pro safety Antoine Winfield Jr. to stop the bleeding in the secondary. The image of that last play, with Hodge breaking the tackle, racing to the end zone and being moved by the entire Falcons roster will be hard to erase. "If I'm going to go for the ball like that, I've got to either make the play, or put myself in position to make the tackle," McCollum said. "So that's on me. It was an emotional last four minutes, that's for sure. But that's the NFL. That's this game and we've got to finish them." Tampa Bay Times, published 4 October 2024