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Jenna Laine, ESPN Staff Writer
ATLANTA — With 1:52 to go and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers clinging to a 30-27 lead over the Atlanta Falcons in a prime-time NFC South showdown, Bucs inside linebacker Lavonte David intercepted quarterback Kirk Cousins at the Atlanta 35-yard line and jogged down the sideline to the end zone to celebrate with several teammates.
Quarterback Baker Mayfield said he thought the Bucs had won. So did left tackle Tristan Wirfs and cornerback Zyon McCollum.
“I did,” said Mayfield, who afterward sat dejected, staring into his locker for several minutes. “We’ve got to learn how to finish.”
After the interception, the Bucs went three and out, allowing the Falcons to get the ball back. Nine plays later, Younghoe Koo drilled a 52-yard field goal to force overtime. Cousins then hit KhaDarel Hodge on a hitch route with McCollum missing a tackle at the 40-yard line, resulting in a 45-yard touchdown and a 36-30 victory for Atlanta.
“There were a lot of emotions in that moment,” McCollum said. “I thought we were going to win, thought we were going to have to make a play to go win the game. … It was pretty crazy. It stings a lot. … It’s a hard pill to swallow. You have to face reality and move on.”
Coach Todd Bowles lamented the final play, explaining why Hodge was able to break free for the winning score.
“We were in man,” Bowles said of the Bucs’ defense. “They had angles, and a guy took off and made a play. He just missed the ball, and he missed the tackle. … Guys weren’t where they were supposed to be because we’re in man, not zone.”
The loss dropped the Bucs to 3-2 in the NFC South with a road game against the New Orleans Saints up next.
Wirfs was particularly upset because he felt the Bucs had the win wrapped up and simply blew it.
“It sucks. I’m pissed,” Wirfs said. “I’m not happy about it. It was right there. They gave it to us. They threw the Lavonte pick and said, ‘Here you go. You guys win.'”
Mayfield threw three touchdowns in the first half and was particularly successful against the blitz. But in the second half, the Falcons took a less aggressive approach, sitting back into coverage and making them work their way down the field.
Running back Rachaad White said the Falcons started stunting with their pass rushers and blitzing into the run to slow the Bucs down in the second half. And then Atlanta showed some unique looks on the Bucs’ final offensive possession.
“I seen a lot of different stuff I didn’t see [before], like two safeties just down, it was two backers,” White said, referring to Jessie Bates III, Justin Simmons, James Smith-Williams and Kaden Elliss all swarming him on the left side of the formation as he was coming out of the backfield for a 3-yard loss.
White blamed himself for not scoring on a 56-yard run in the second quarter that went all the way down to the Atlanta 15, although the drive ended with Mayfield finding Sterling Shepard for a 4-yard touchdown.
“I got to score that,” White said. “I’m trash for not scoring.”
Similar feelings of regret emanated from others in the locker room. Cousins routinely exploited the middle of the field and Bucs defenders struggled with tackling. Bowles said Bucs defenders “were not where we were supposed to be.”
“Kirk does a good job of looking off zone coverage defenders,” safety Christian Izien said. “I felt like we weren’t disciplined enough in our zone drops, knowing that he looks off, so just something we have to change when we play them in a couple weeks.”
For Mayfield, it was a missed a deep shot to Shepard late in the first quarter that instead forced the Bucs to settle for a 53-yard field goal.
“All I care about is wins,” Mayfield said. “That’s it. So I’ve got to find a way to finish that game out on offense. I was thinking about the first half, missing that shot to Shep. … I’m just replaying that one over in my head, that maybe it shouldn’t have even been an overtime situation. I have to make the plays when they’re there. Then in the second half, just got to take care of the football, and got to finish on offense.”
The two teams get a rematch in Tampa on Oct. 27. Many pegged the Falcons to win the division heading into the season, and they already have a 26-24 victory over the Saints from last week.
“We knew they had players,” Bowles said. “We knew they had a good football team. We knew we were coming in here for a tough ball game. It’s a division game. We had our chances. It didn’t work.”