When the Bucs offense took the field down 25-22 with 3:23 remaining in Sunday’s game against the Falcons, there was a feeling of familiarity.

Tampa Bay was in the same spot when it hosted Atlanta at Raymond James Stadium in Week 7. Back then, Baker Mayfield and the offense took the field down 13-10 with 2:36 to go. But in that game, the drive stalled at the 8-yard line when Mayfield was sacked. That left the Bucs to settle for a game-tying Chase McLaughlin field goal with 45 seconds to go.

And 45 seconds later, the Falcons were celebrating a walk-off, 51-yard field goal by Younghoe Koo. They’d just beaten the Bucs to take over first place in the NFC South.

Baker Mayfield, Bucs Made Sure Week 14 Was A Different Story

Bucs TE Cade Otton – Photo by: USA Today

Fast forward seven weeks and it was Tampa Bay’s offense flipping the script on its way to a 29-25 win — a win that moved them back into first place in the NFC South via tiebreaker.

“We were trying to win the game,” Bucs head coach Todd Bowles said after the game. “We knew it was going to be a tough game. We came down here to win the ball game. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy, we knew it was going to come down to the end in two-minute. We talked about it all week, so the guys didn’t panic and they came up and made plays when they had to.”

This time, the Bucs didn’t settle for a field goal and hope for overtime. This time, they went for the kill — and got it. After a key fourth-down conversion by Rachaad White and a defensive holding penalty, Chris Godwin made the big play, hauling in a 32-yard pass from Mayfield that took the clock under a minute.

The Bucs were at the 11 one play later, just shy of where they stalled out back in Week 7 when they had a chance to win the game. It was then that Mayfield saw a matchup advantage and unloaded an 11-yard touchdown pass to tight end Cade Otton with 31 seconds to go.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today

“Honestly, I was just excited,” Mayfield said. “The fact that, exact situation — needed a field goal to go down and tie the game — as the first game at home. But this time, different outcome. We learned from our mistakes, made the plays we needed to. That’s what you look for, you look for growth, you look for the improvement and our guys did that today.”

The Bucs still had to hold off a last-gasp effort from the Falcons — who came dangerously close to a stunner — but they did what they couldn’t do in Week 7. They got a touchdown — not a field goal — to win the game late.

“I love it,” Mayfield said. “That’s what you want as a quarterback, as a competitor. You want to have — obviously we didn’t have the ball last — but you want to have the opportunity last and to take care of business. That’s how you want it. You don’t want to count on anybody else and yeah, we were pretty good in two-minute.”

Bucs Will Have To Win More Close Games Over Final Four Weeks

Bucs TE Cade Otton – Photo by: USA Today

After winning a one-possession game over the Vikings in Week 1, the Bucs lost four straight one-possession contests. There was the three-point loss to Atlanta, a six-point loss at Buffalo, a two-point loss that saw them blow a late lead at Houston and a seven-point loss to Indianapolis.

But now, in the last two weeks, Tampa Bay has won games by three and four points, respectively. Close, one-score games typically come down to a few plays here and there. For weeks, the Bucs weren’t making those plays. But last week against Carolina and on Sunday against Atlanta, they came through when they needed to.

“A lot of resilience,” Bucs head coach Todd Bowles said. “We knew it was going to be a tough game. We played them tough the first game. We lost it, we came back this game. Offense came down, had a heck of a drive. [We] held them out of the end zone at the end. Can’t say enough about these guys fighting, the competitiveness they had coming in here. Huge win. It’s going to be like that every week for the next four weeks.”

It will be like that over the next four weeks. The Bucs have tough games ahead at Green Bay and home against Jacksonville, then they host New Orleans for another crucial game in the NFC South race.

Tampa Bay has the edge via tiebreaker right now, but more tight games await in the coming weeks. To see this division lead through and cross the finish line for a third consecutive NFC South title, the Bucs know they’ll have to replicate the late-game success they’ve found in recent weeks.

“We need to carry this mentality over into next week,” Mayfield said. “This game won’t matter unless we take care of business next week. So, have the same mentality, approach the week the same, be intentional about it and come out one play at a time and find a way to win.”