The Bucs didn’t have a great Thursday Night game as they fell to their second defeat of the season against the Falcons in Atlanta. Although they lost the clash in overtime by 36-30, Baker Mayfield had a huge injury scare during the third quarter that got everyone tensed about his availability. Late into the quarter, Mayfield found himself sacked by Falcons defensive tackle David Onyemata, who ended the Bucs TD drive.

Although it was a great play by Onyemata, Mayfield got on the wrong side of it. As he struggled to get off the field for a sack that twisted his right ankle. However, after getting treated on the sidelines, Mayfield hopped back in to lead the Bucs’ subsequent drive by completing a pass towards Mike Evans. Him finishing the game indicated positive expectations about his injury, as NFL insider Ian Rapoport said he was “good” after last night.

Well, it would be a huge sigh of relief for the Bucs, as he has been an integral part of their strong start to the season. Building up to the clash, Mayfield had already racked up 1,164 yards with 11 TDs and only two interceptions. Even in this clash that ended in a defeat, the Bucs’ QB was at his best as he finished with 19-of-24 for 180 yards while adding a staggering three TDs to the total.

However, Mayfield was not happy with the result, as he expressed, “All I care about is wins. That’s it. So I’ve got to finish that game out on offense. I was thinking about the first half, missing that shot to Shep. I’m just replaying that one over in my head, then maybe it shouldn’t have been an overtime situation.” Looking back, it was all chaos during the last quarter, where the Tampa Bay team took a narrow lead by three points through Chase McLaughlin’s 53-yard field goal.

With only 10:23 minutes remaining on the clock, the Falcons saw their 54-yard field goal attempt blocked, which may have been enough for the Buccaneers. But a late fumble by Bucky Irving renewed hopes on the horizon as Falcons LB Kaden Ellis recovered the pass. Even this drive was stopped by the Buccaneers’ defense when Lavonte Davis stopped Falcons’ QB Kirk Cousins within his territory.

As the clock ran down to 81 seconds, the Falcons had one final chance that they took to score a 52-yard field that pushed the game towards overtime. In the end, it was an overtime touchdown by KhaDarel Hodge that confirmed the Falcons’ victory. This gave the Tampa Bay team a reality check who had big misses to look back upon.

Buccaneers left reflecting upon self-inflicting mistakes after loss vs Falcons

When Davis stopped Cousins on the 35-yard line with less than 2 minutes remaining on the clock. The Bucs thought they had won, as Zyon McCollum shared, “There were a lot of emotions in that moment. I thought we were going to win, thought we were going to have to make a play to go win the game. It was pretty crazy. It stings a lot., it’s a hard pill to swallow. You have to face reality and move on.” Even head coach Todd Bowles expressed his disappointment after McCollum missed the final tackle on the 40-yard line.

“We were in man. They had angles, and a guy took off and made a play. He just missed the football, and he missed the tackle. Guys weren’t where they were supposed to be because we’re in man, not zone.” Well, this defeat could come back to haunt them as the team prepares for the Saints next week in New Orleans. And taking nothing away from the Falcons, they were simply sensational, especially their QB Cousins.

His record-breaking 509 yards and four touchdowns saw him lead the Falcons to consecutive victories over NFC South rivals. This game surely opened up every team’s chances to make it to the playoffs. As we wait for next week’s clash, the Buccaneers would be hopeful they can return to the winning column in New Orleans.