Eleven yards. That’s all that separated the Atlanta Falcons from prime position in the NFC South. Tampa Bay quarterback Baker Mayfield found tight end Cade Otton for a touchdown to give the Bucs a 29-25 lead with 31 seconds remaining in the game. Atlanta would lose the game by that score, promoting Falcons head coach Arthur Smith to say, “We had plenty of opportunities in all three phases of the game,” during his postgame press conference.
Along with a safety, there were two missed field goals. Opportunities indeed.
Moments earlier with the score 22-17 and the Atlanta Falcons playing catchup, Falcons second-year quarterback Desmond Ridder found second-year receiver Drake London down the field on the longest pass play of the game. Three consecutive runs by second-year running back Tyler Allgeier put Atlanta in scoring position before Ridder scrambled to give the home team its first lead of the game, 23-22. A successful two-point conversion on a pass from Ridder to London put Atlanta ahead 25-22 with 3:23 remaining in the game.
All is not lost as the division remains up for grabs with Tampa, New Orleans and Atlanta now all tied at 6-7 overall. Sunday was the Falcons’ first divisional loss.
The Falcons have just one home game remaining on the regular season schedule. On Christmas Eve Atlanta will host the Indianapolis Colts (7-6 after loss to Cincinnati), another team working on a long sought after playoff berth after a couple of seasons of mediocrity.
Before anyone starts talking about the playoffs there are a few games the Falcons will have to win to secure a playoff spot. Winning the NFC South will be the only way to do that though. On Sunday New Orleans defeated Carolina 28-6 to stay on pace with the Falcons and Buccaneers.
The game started with both Atlanta and Tampa exchanging scoring drives. The game would remain tied at 10 following a 36-yard touchdown connection from Falcons quarterback Desmond Ridder (26 for 40 for 347 yards, a TD and an INT) and tight end Kyle Pitts (three catches for 57 yards and a TD).
The tie would be broken on a safety when Atlanta, with the ball on their own eight-yard line and 2:44 remaining in the half, managed to fumble in the end zone and recover it resulting in a safety and a two-point Tampa advantage.
There were a couple of opportunities to take the lead, but both ended in missed field goals of 50 and 52 yards by Falcons kicker extraordinaire Younghoe Koo.
During the third quarter Tampa expanded its lead to 19-10 following a nine-play drive that ended in a 31-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Baker Mayfield and running back Rachaad White. Early in the fourth quarter the Falcons would score on a Bijan Robinson blitz (32 yard catch and run, and three-yard TD run) to pull to within two points, 19-17.
The Falcons hold a slight advantage over the Saints because of their 24-15 victory over their rival on November 26. Atlanta will be in Carolina next Sunday, while New Orleans will host the New York Giants and Tampa Bay will travel to Green Bay.
“It’s frustrating losing like that,” said Smith. “That’s the NFL. Unfortunately they made one more play than we did.”