Atlanta 14, Tampa Bay 10 – 0:38 remaining in the second quarter

Tucker handled a low, hopping kickoff well and got the ball back to the Bucs’ 26 with 33 seconds left in the half. His scrambling pass on first down in Godwin’s direction was deflected at the line. A 15-yard facemask penalty moved the ball to the Bucs’ 41 with 21 ticks left on the clock. Mayfield found Evans wide open down the left sideline for a gain of 34 to the Atlanta 26 and he got out of bounds with 13 seconds left. Mayfield was quickly sacked on the next play at the 34 and the Bucs used their second timeout with seven seconds remaining. Mayfield had no one to throw to on the next play and spiked the ball with three seconds left in the half, setting up McLaughlin for a 52-yard field goal try. He nailed it as time expired to make it a one-point game.

Atlanta 14, Tampa Bay 13 – end of first half

Atlanta got the ball to start the second half after a touchback. The drive started with a swing pass to Robinson that was good for 16 yards, followed by the back’s four-yard run up the middle. Diaby fought off a block to drop Robinson for a loss of three and the Falcons then committed a false start. Cousins dumped the ball off to Pitts over the middle on third down but LB Deion Jones dropped him well short of the line to gain the Falcons sent out the punt squad. The ball went into the end zone but a holding call pushed the Bucs’ offense back to its 10-yard line.

An Irving run for no yards and a quick strike to Godwin left the Bucs in a third-and-two. The offense went to a no-huddle and handed off to Irving heading left, leading to a five-yard gain. Mayfield then hit Egbuka on a flag route for 20 yards to the Bucs’ 43, then dialed up a deep shot to Evans down the left sideline. Evans leapt over CB Cobee Bryant for a gain of 45 yards to the Atlanta 12. A facemask penalty on Bryant on the next play put the ball at the six but Mayfield slipped while scrambling on the next snap to make it second-and-goal from the 13. An attempted wheel route to Irving didn’t work, but an illegal contact penalty on third down gave the Bucs a new set of down at the eight. Tucker took a sweep left and didn’t get much, but that was due to a tripping penalty that made it first-and-goal at the four. Tucker was dropped for a two-yard loss on the next play, but Culp worked wide open into the middle of the end zone on the next play and Mayfield hit him for the go-ahead score.

Tampa Bay 20, Atlanta 14 – 6:22 remaining in the third quarter

After a touchback put the ball at the Atlanta 35 and an incompletion, Cousins threw a short pass that Robinson turned into a 21-yard gain. Sills then got wide open down the left sideline and Cousins hit him in the hands but he couldn’t hang on. An out to WR Darnell Mooney led to a first down at the Bucs’ 31, but two incompletions and an intentional grounding call followed. Cousins’ pass attempt to Sills on third-and-20 was incomplete and the Falcons punted. Kameron Johnson muffed the resulting punt but was able to fall on it at the Bucs’ 10.

Evans made a dazzling back-shoulder catch for 20 yards to start the next drive, and Irving found an opening for six yards up the middle on the next play. The Bucs then brought in both Irving and White for the next play and gave a direct snap to Irving, who blasted up the middle for 16 yards. That worked so good the Bucs did it again and got five more yards. Mayfield had no time to survey the field on second down before being dropped for a seven-yard sack back at the midfield stripe. A third-down out in Tez Johnson’s direction was out of reach and the Bucs punted away. It was fair caught at the Atlanta 14.

After a two-yard run by Robinson, Cousins threw a short pass over the middle to Robinson but Izien separated the ball with a hard hit and Parrish recovered at the Atlanta 25.

The third quarter came to an end on a scrambling pass to Evans that was ruled incomplete. After the teams switched sides, replay assist ruled that Evans did catch the ball, making it first down at the 14. Irving got a first-down handoff but slipped on a cut to end up with no gain. Evans drew a pass-interference call on the next play, putting the ball at the five. Tucker got two yards on a first-down carry up the gut, and Mayfield then found Godwin in the back middle of the end zone for the three-yard score. The Bucs went for two and Mayfield and Godwin hooked up again to give the Bucs a 14-point lead.

Tampa Bay 28, Atlanta 14 – 13:34 remaining in the fourth quarter

Another touchback put the ball at Atlanta’s 35. A deep out-breaking pass to Mooney was at his feet and incomplete. A quick shot out wide left to Robinson picked up seven, followed by another pass to the star back for a first down at the Atlanta 48. Three plays later, the Falcons faced a third-and-two at the Bucs’ 44 and Pitts worked wide open in the right flat for a 26-yard catch-and-run. A quick slant to Sills picked up another 20 yards to make it first-and-goal and Robinson took a handoff out wide to the left on the next play for the six-yard score. The Falcons went for two and failed.

Tampa Bay 28, Atlanta 20 – 9:37 remaining in the fourth quarter

Atlanta’s next kickoff hit the ground short of the landing zone, which allowed the Bucs to start at their own 40. A screen pass to White got a quick six yards, and a scrambling Mayfield found Egbuka for a nine-yard completion. Two plays later, Mayfield tried to find Evans near the left sideline but CB Dee Alford made a leaping interception at the Atlanta 33.

Robinson jump-started the next drive with a 14-yard run to the left, and three plays later the Falcons faced a third-and-seven from the midfield stripe. Cousins had pressure in his face on third down but got off a pass over the middle to Pitts for 10 yards and a first down. Allgeier sliced over left end for 15 more on the next play to get to the Bucs’ 25. Two plays later, LB Lavonte David forced a fumble by Mooney but the Falcons somehow came up with the loose ball at the Bucs’ 10. An incompletion and a false start made it second-and-goal at the 15, and a quick pass to TE Charlie Woerner made it third-and-goal at the seven. Cousins went to Pitts again, who made a bobbling catch at the right edge of the end zone. The Falcons went for two and a blitzing Winfield hit Cousins to force an incompletion.

Tampa Bay 28, Atlanta 26 – 3:34 remaining in the fourth quarter

Tucker got the kickoff out to the Bucs 27 and Irving got six yards on a first-down carry. His next run got just one and the Falcons used their first timeout at the 2:37 mark. A quick out to Godwin got the first down at the 39 and the Falcons used their second timeout. Irving was swallowed up on his next carry, losing four yards and leading to the Falcons’ final timeout. A crossing pass to Egbuka was incomplete and the Bucs used a timeout to contemplate their third-down call. Mayfield was under instant pressure on the next snap and was dropped for a sack to set up a punt as the two-minute warning arrived.

After the break, a Dixon punt put Atlanta at its own 30. Cousins immediately hit Sills on a sideline route for 17 yards to get close to midfield. Reddick then got to Cousins for the Bucs’ one sack of the game, forcing a fumble that led to a huge pile of bodies and eventually led to a ruling that Cousins had recovered the ball. A holding penalty made it second-and-28 and was followed by an incompletion. Cousins then hit the critical completions to Pitts and Sills, and another six-yard catch by Mooney set up Gonzalez’s game-winner.