On a short week, the 3-1 Bucs had to head up to Atlanta to face the 2-2 Falcons on Thursday Night Football. After a big home win on Sunday, Tampa Bay was looking to get to 4-1 and gain some early separation in the NFC South race before getting a mini-bye week ahead of Week 6.

Thanks to a 24-point first half from Baker Mayfield and the offense, the Bucs went into halftime with a lead. The second-half was quite the back-and-forth affair, and by the end of it, it looked like Tampa Bay would salt away a huge road win. Instead, the offense couldn’t get one last first down, the defense couldn’t make one last stop and Atlanta forced overtime. From there, the Falcons won the coin toss and scored a walk-off touchdown, winning 36-30 without Mayfield even getting a chance to touch the ball in overtime.

Tampa Bay is now 3-2 overall and trailing Atlanta in the NFC South race via tiebreaker. Todd Bowles’ team badly needs to recover from what turned out to be an embarrassing defeat and get healthy with some extra time before its Week 6 matchup with the Saints in New Orleans.

Here’s a recap of all the action from Thursday night.

Falcons 36, Bucs 30 (OT)

Falcons WR Drake London and Bucs NCB Tykee Smith – Photo by: USA Today

The Falcons got the ball to open the game and marched right down the field on the Bucs, with Kirk Cousins picking apart Todd Bowles’ zone defense and helping the home team strike first. Cousins found Drake London for an 18-yard touchdown to cap off a seven-play, 70-yard drive that gave the Falcons an early 7-0 lead.

The Bucs offense was quick to respond, with Baker Mayfield getting Mike Evans involved right from the jump for the second week in a row. Evans picked up two first downs to get the drive going, then Cade Otton moved the chains again on a third-down screen pass. Then, after Mayfield connected with Chris Godwin to get Tampa Bay inside the 5-yard line, Mayfield and Evans connected for a 2-yard touchdown. The PAT from Chase McLaughlin then made it 7-7.

The Falcons looked to be driving right down the field once again on their next drive, but Vita Vea got to Cousins for a third-down sack to force a field goal try. Younghoe Koo, a hero for Atlanta in last week’s win, initially missed from 46 yards out. But an offsides penalty moved the kick up and gave Koo another try, only for him to miss again and keep the game tied at seven.

Mayfield and the offense moved the ball a bit on their next drive themselves, but eventually stalled and had to try a field goal of their own. McLaughlin nailed his kick from 53 yards out, giving the visitors a 10-7 advantage late in the first quarter.

Despite seeing their previous drive end with a missed kick, the Falcons continued to dominate the Bucs defense as the second quarter began. Atlanta even overcame a couple of penalties and regained the lead on a 24-yard touchdown pass from Cousins to Darnell Mooney on a 3rd & 13. That gave the Falcons a 14-10 lead, but that didn’t last long.

Bucs WR Sterling Shepard – Photo by: USA Today

A 53-yard return by Sean Tucker on the ensuing kickoff set the Bucs up well, as it only took a 22-yard Otton catch to bring the offense just shy of the red zone. From there, Mayfield and Evans connected again. This time, it was from 23 yards out to give the Bucs a 17-14 advantage early in the second. And with his second touchdown of the night, Evans made history, reaching the 100-total touchdown mark for his career (99 receiving, one fumble recovery).

After Koo redeemed himself with a 54-yard field goal to tie the game at 17, the Bucs offense continued its hot start with another explosive play. Rachaad White broke free for a 56-yard run and just a few plays later, Mayfield linked up with former Oklahoma Sooners teammate Sterling Shepard to put the Bucs ahead 24-17.

And while it looked like Atlanta was about to respond again in its two-minute drill, a Logan Hall sack effectively killed that drive and left it a 24-17 Tampa Bay lead at halftime.

A Justin Skule holding penalty set the Bucs behind the sticks to open the second half, and that led to Trenton Gill’s first punt of the game. The Falcons offense responded by putting together a long 12-play, nearly six-minute drive, which included a fourth-down conversion. But after a costly KhaDarel Hodge penalty and an Anthony Nelson sack, Atlanta had to settle for a 48-yard field goal from Koo. That made it a 24-20 game with 6:21 to go in the third quarter.

Bucs WR Chris Godwin – Photo by: USA Today

The Bucs’ next possession was a big one for Chris Godwin, though he was bailed out early on as Evans recovered a fumble of his that was forced by Jessie Bates. Tampa Bay threatened to find the end zone again, but a third-down sack of Mayfield forced Todd Bowles to settle for another McLaughlin field goal. That got the lead back to seven at 27-20 with 1:17 to go in the third.

But the Bucs defense wasn’t up to the task of defending that lead. Bijan Robinson finally broke free for some chunk runs and despite the Falcons eventually facing a 4th & 4 at the 12-yard line, Tykee Smith couldn’t make a play and they converted with a 12-yard touchdown pass from Cousins to Mooney that tied the game at 27-27.

A couple of first downs sparked Tampa Bay’s next drive, but it soon sputtered out. Still, McLaughlin nailed another 53-yard field goal to give the visitors a 30-27 lead with 10:23 left. And while the Falcons looked primed to continue picking apart the Buccaneer defense on their way to a go-ahead touchdown, a crucial third-down drop by a wide-open Darnell Mooney forced them to try a game-tying 54-yard field goal. But then came the biggest play of the night for the Bucs, as Tavierre Thomas blocked Koo’s kick and kept the lead at 30-27 with 6:29 to go.

🚫 BLOCKED 🚫

📺: #TBvsATL on @PrimeVideo pic.twitter.com/u8dbmszDg7

— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) October 4, 2024

Tampa Bay was about ready to burn the clock and add more points, picking up two big third-down conversions. But just as Bucky Irving approached another first down, Jessie Bates knocked the ball loose and a fumble at the worst time possible for Tampa Bay gave Atlanta another chance.

But for seemingly the first time all night, Todd Bowles’ defense stepped up. A Yaya Diaby tackle for loss, a second-down sack by Logan Hall and a great tackle by Zyon McCollum on third down set up 4th & 15. And on that fourth down, Lavonte David picked off Kirk Cousins to get the ball back to the Buccaneer offense.

But after it was the defense putting pressure on the offense all night, it was time for the offense to turn the tables and make the defense step up once again. The Bucs’ run game went nowhere, plus a holding call on Graham Barton set the drive back. So while the Falcons had to burn all three of their timeouts, they did get the ball back with 1:12 to go, only needing a field goal.

Bucs ILB K.J. Britt – Photo by: Jeffrey Jones/PR

Atlanta went right to work, getting to midfield with ease by the 21-second mark. Then, the big play came with just a second to spare. Cousins found London over the middle of the field and the Falcons just barely got the spike off in time, leaving one second for a potential game-tying field goal. A delay of game penalty pushed Koo back, but he still made a 52-yarder to send the game to overtime.

The Falcons won the coin toss in overtime, too, and it didn’t take long for Cousins to hit Hodge for a game-winning 45-yard touchdown, leaving the Bucs to wonder how the hell it all went so wrong late in the game.

Baker Mayfield finished the night 19-of-24 for 180 yards and three touchdowns, while Mike Evans was the star with five catches for 62 yards and two touchdowns. The Tampa Bay run game put up 160 yards, but wasn’t able to kill the clock late and it proved costly.

The Bucs defense was a mess all night, allowing Kirk Cousins to throw for a Falcons record 509 yards and four touchdowns on 42-of-58 passing. Logan Hall had two sacks and both Vita Vea and Anthony Nelson chipped in with one, but it wasn’t enough to make up for the issues the rest of the group had from start to finish.

The Bucs (3-2) will now have a longer break to prepare and get healthy ahead of a Week 6 trip to New Orleans to face the Saints (2-2). Kickoff for that Oct. 13 game is set for 1:00 p.m.