The Bucs didn’t have long to recover from what was ultimately a devastating Monday Night Football loss to the Ravens in Week 7, as they had to turn right around and host the Falcons on Sunday afternoon in a massive NFC South matchup.

After losing to Atlanta on the road in Week 5, Tampa Bay badly needed a win on Sunday to split the season series and prevent Raheem Morris’ team from completing the sweep and earning a crucial tiebreaker – and a stranglehold on the division lead.

Unfortunately for the Bucs, Todd Bowles and his defense still had no answers for Kirk Cousins three weeks after he lit them up for 509 yards and four touchdowns. This time around, Cousins threw for 276 yards and four more touchdowns on 23-of-29 passing. While the offense went stagnant for a period and Baker Mayfield turned the ball over twice in the second half, that unit scored 24 points and put up quite the fight without Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, thanks in large part to a big day from Cade Otton on National Tight Ends Day.

In the end, it was Bowles’ defense at fault as the Falcons won 31-26 and took a massive step toward ending the Bucs’ three-year reign atop the NFC South.

Here’s a recap of all the action from Sunday’s disappointing loss at Raymond James Stadium that dropped Tampa Bay to 4-4.

Falcons 31, Bucs 26

Falcons TE Kyle Pitts and Bucs SS Kaevon Merriweather – Photo by: USA Today

The Bucs won the coin toss and elected to receive the opening kickoff, but the ball quickly went over to the Falcons as Jessie Bates forced a Rachaad White fumble on the second play of the game and the Atlanta defense recovered at the Tampa Bay 43-yard line.

The Buccaneer defense initially stood tall through the first three plays of the Falcons’ drive, but on 4th & 3 from the 36, Kaevon Merriweather couldn’t stay with Kyle Pitts and Kirk Cousins found him wide open for an easy 36-yard touchdown. Just like that, it was 7-0 Falcons.

Baker Mayfield and the Bucs offense managed to bounce right back, largely thanks to some shifty running by rookie Bucky Irving, who had carries of 15, eight and eight on the drive. The possession also included a key fourth-down conversion by Mayfield and a third-down conversion by White, then it culminated with a 5-yard passing touchdown from Mayfield to Cade Otton on 3rd & Goal. The 15-play, 70-yard drive took 8:30 off the clock and evened the game up at 7-7.

Tampa Bay’s defense immediately gave up a 28-yard pass from Cousins to Darnell Mooney to open the next drive, but then it stood tall. Calijah Kancey got a pressure on 2nd & 8, then Todd Bowles went with a heavy blitz on 3rd & 8 that saw Lavonte David run in free and force a throwaway. But with a masterful Bradley Pinion punt, the Bucs had to start their next drive from their own 3-yard line.

Bucs TE Cade Otton – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

The bad starting field position mattered in no way to Tampa Bay. Catches by Otton and Sean Tucker got the ball out of the shadow of the end zone, then Otton picked up 29 yards to convert a 3rd & 8 on the second play of the second quarter. From there, Otton later converted another third down before Mayfield found White and White followed his blocking to do the rest, getting in for an 18-yard touchdown. With a 12-play, 97-yard drive that drained 7:09 off the clock, the Bucs took a 14-7 lead.

That lead didn’t last long, as the Falcons quickly got near midfield before Cousins unloaded a 49-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Pitts. It looked as if Antoine Winfield Jr. had managed to do it again, as he chased down Pitts and knocked the ball loose as he was crossing the goal line. Despite it looking like the call should go the Bucs’ way, it didn’t. It stood as a touchdown, tying the game at 14 halfway through the second quarter.

A phantom call on Payne Durham set Tampa Bay’s ensuing possession back, leading to a quick three-and-out. And after a Trenton Gill punt that had just a 29-yard net, Atlanta began with strong field position.

Yet again, the Falcons scored with little resistance from Todd Bowles’ defense. Cousins found Mooney for a 30-yard touchdown to cap a quick six-play, 61-yard drive that gave Atlanta a 21-14 lead with 2:09 to go before halftime.

Tampa Bay converted a key third down early on its next drive, with Mayfield finding Trey Palmer for a 25-yard pickup. But the drive eventually stalled inside the Atlanta 35, forcing the home team to settle for a 52-yard Chase McLaughlin field goal to get within 21-17 at the 1:04 mark in the second quarter.

Falcons WR Darnell Mooney and Bucs CB Tyrek Funderburk and ILB K.J. Britt – Photo by: USA Today

But there was no half-closing stop for the Buccaneer defense. Instead, the Falcons got that field goal right back and extended their lead to 24-17 before halftime on a 39-yard field goal by Younghoe Koo.

A holding penalty set the Falcons’ opening drive of the second half back and led to a three-and-out, and after a decent punt return by Palmer, the Bucs offense took over from their own 39 with a chance to drive down and take the lead.

Just as it looked like the offense was getting it going again, Mayfield made an ill-advised throw on a flea flicker and was intercepted by Jessie Bates. The Falcons ultimately failed to cash the turnover in for points, but it still took a scoring opportunity away from the Bucs.

And Tampa Bay continued to stall out on its next possession, which ultimately ended when Tavierre Thomas went nowhere on a fake punt attempt. That was costly, of course, as it gave the Falcons starting field position at the Bucs’ 36.

Even after a holding penalty set them back to the 46, Cousins and his offense marched into the red zone easily. After converting a third down, the Falcons extended their lead to 31-17 as Cousins found a wide-open Bijan Robinson for a 7-yard touchdown. So, with 14 seconds to go in the third quarter, it was a two-touchdown deficit for the Bucs.

The Buccaneer offense got moving to start the fourth quarter, with a 17-yard run by McMillan and a 20-yard catch by Rakim Jarrett. But from there, Mayfield was intercepted again – this time by A.J. Terrell – to give the ball over to Atlanta.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Tampa Bay caught a break, though, as Cousins lost the ball and no one recovered it before it went out of the back of the end zone. That made it a 31-19 deficit with 12:04 to go.

The Bucs worked the ball down the field looking to close the gap even further, with some quick completions to Irving, McMillan, Otton and Ryan Miller getting them into Falcons territory. A Mayfield scramble on one third down and a huge completion to Rakim Jarrett on another set up 1st & Goal, then Mayfield found Otton for another touchdown to get the home team within 31-26 with 6:52 to go.

Atlanta marched right down the field with a heavy dose of Bijan Robinson and killed 5:51 off the clock before Koo came on to make it an 8-point game. Only Koo missed from 46, giving the Bucs a slight shot from their own 36 with no timeouts.

A couple of short gains killed too much clock early in the drive before a 19-yard Jarrett catch got Tampa Bay to the Atlanta 33. But there were only nine seconds to go, and there was no miracle to be had by Mayfield and the offense. With that, the Bucs took a crushing 31-26 loss that badly damages their hopes of a fourth straight division title.

Bucs RB Bucky Irving – Photo by: USA Today

Baker Mayfield had two bad interceptions, but he showed a ton of grit in running the offense and leading it to 24 points without his top two receivers. He finished the day 37-of-50 for 330 yards and three touchdowns to two interceptions. Cade Otton was the star of the day for the offense, catching nine of his 10 targets for 81 yards and two touchdowns. Jalen McMillan, Trey Palmer, Rakim Jarrett and Sterling Shepard combined for 12 catches on their 15 targets for 140 yards as well.

Bucky Irving continued to impress, averaging 4.9 yards per carry, with 44 yards on nine carries. He also caught all seven of his targets for 40 yards. Rachaad White averaged 4.8 yards per carry himself in addition to catching an 18-yard touchdown.

As bad as the Buccaneer defense was and as little pressure as it got (aside from two C.J. Brewer sacks), the 3-0 Atlanta advantage in the turnover margin made a huge difference.

The Bucs (4-4) don’t have it any easier from here, as they will head on the road next weekend for a Monday Night Football matchup against Patrick Mahomes and the back-to-back Super Bowl champion Chiefs (6-0). Kickoff for that Nov. 4 game is set for 8:15 p.m.