What We Saw – Falcons @ Buccaneers

The Kyle Pitts game.

Kyle McCarthy
What We Saw 21 Hours Ago

Atlanta Falcons @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Final Score: Falcons 29, Buccaneers 28

Writer: Kyle McCarthy (@KyleStats1738 on X)

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers blew a 14-point fourth-quarter lead as Kirk Cousins staged another heroic rally to pull off the comeback win in one of the best uniform matchups of the season. This devastating loss has put the Bucs in serious danger of snapping their five-year playoff streak. Captain Kirk has been a comeback king his entire career, with one of his most iconic comebacks being a 24-point comeback also against the Bucs, back in Week 7 of the 2015 season, setting a franchise record in his first season as Washington’s starting quarterback. Cousins was boosted by massive performances from Kyle Pitts and Bijan Robinson, who each racked up over 150 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown. They became the only RB–TE duo in the last 50 seasons to hit those marks in the same game. Atlanta also overcame a franchise high of 19 penalties for 125 yards in the comeback win. And a Zane Gonzales walk-off field goal at Raymond James Stadium? Gonzales did that already, just a short 11 months ago on Jan. 12 with the Washington Commanders to win the Wild Card game.

Two Up

  • Kyle Pitts – 45.6 PPR points. The third most by a TE in NFL history.
  • Mike Evans – Mike Evans is back, and he does wonders for Baker Mayfield and the Bucs offense.

Two Down

  • Baker Mayfield – Another inaccurate night for Baker, and a poor interception in the fourth quarter. Season high five sacks taken. Still had a productive fantasy day, though.
  • Darnell Mooney – Overshadowed by Bijan and Pitts. That can be somewhat expected. But getting doubled up in yardage by David Sills V is not ideal.

Atlanta Falcons

 

Quarterback

 

Kirk Cousins: 30/44, 373 Yards, 3 TD, 0 INT 

Cousins continues to own the Bucs. He targeted Kyle Pitts early and often in the first half, finding him for 111 yards and two touchdowns before Todd Bowles and the Tampa Bay defense adjusted with more bracket coverage in the second half. Then Cousins found his superstar running back Bijan Robinson on easy routes in the flat and when lined up out wide. Captain Kirk is 3-0 with 1,158 passing yards, 11 touchdowns, and one interception in his last three games against the Bucs.

Running Back

 

Bijan Robinson: 19 Carries, 93 Yards, 1 TD | 11 Targets, 8 Receptions, 82 Yards, 1 FUM Lost

Robinson now leads the league with five games of 150+ yards from scrimmage. Robinson was fed 27 touches and looked unbelievable. He consistently caught dump-off passes from Cousins, evaded multiple defenders, and turned them into huge gains after the catch throughout the game. Robinson forced 10 missed tackles on all his touches, his most in a game this season, and his 96 yards after the catch were his second most this season, per Next Gen Stats.

Tyler Allgeier: 2 Carries, 18 Yards

Allgeier had an explosive 15-yard rush, but had his fewest carries in a game since Week 9.

 

Wide Receiver/Tight End

 

Kyle Pitts: 12 Targets, 11 Receptions, 166 Yards, 3 TD

What a monster game for Kyle Pitts. It’s his first game with 100+ receiving yards since Week 16 of his rookie season in 2021. The 25-year-old unicorn had six catches for 111 yards and two touchdowns in the first half, winning primarily from the slot, and looked like a man amongst boys against the Bucs’ defensive backs. He was extremely fluid after the catch for his size and made some incredible contested catches. He continues to dominate without Drake London in the lineup. 45.6 PPR points. Congrats to the Pitts owners out there for their first-round victory.

Darnell Mooney: 6 Targets, 3 Receptions, 35 Yards. 1 FUM

The Falcons’ passing game was very consolidated on Thursday night, with only five players drawing targets on 44 pass attempts. But Mooney was the odd man out and had underwhelming production. He almost derailed the Falcons’ comeback hopes with a fumble in the red zone in the fourth quarter, but the Falcons miraculously recovered it.

David Sills V: 10 Targets, 6 Receptions, 78 Yards

The 29-year-old David Sills V more than doubled his career high in receiving yards on Thursday night. He had arguably the play of the game with a diving backwards catch near the sideline on 4th and 14 on the Falcons’ game-winning drive. Sills made up for his earlier drop and made multiple other key catches. He’s emerged as a decent deep league option in London’s absence.

Charlie Woerner: 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 12 Yards

 

 

 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

 

Quarterback

 

Baker Mayfield: 19/34, 277 Yards, 2 TD, 1 INT | 1 Carry, 1 Yard

Mayfield wound up with a pretty solid fantasy day with 23.18 points, but it wasn’t the cleanest performance. The return of Mike Evans was felt instantly, and Mayfield’s production significantly improved with him on the field. They connected for multiple explosive gains and helped pile up 277 passing yards, his most since his 379-yard game in Week 5 against the Seahawks. Mayfield could have finished with three touchdowns through the air, but a 20-yard touchdown pass to Jalen McMillan on the Bucs’ second drive was overturned after further review. And the back-breaking interception in the fourth quarter ultimately flipped the game.

 

Running Back

 

Bucky Irving: 16 Carries, 60 Yards | 3 Targets, 1 Reception, 11 Yards

Irving was vultured by Sean Tucker, who got almost all of his work down near the goal line. It’s not a great sign for Irving, but he did score a touchdown in each of the past two games. He ripped off a couple of explosive runs, but wasn’t super efficient on 16 carries. The second-year back hasn’t been as involved as a receiver since returning, totalling only five receptions (eight targets) for 57 yards in his three games since returning after collecting 19 catches (19 targets) for 193 yards in the first four games.

 

Rachaad White: 1 Carry, 20 Yards | 1 Target, 1 Reception, 6 Yards

Thursday night marked White’s fewest number of touches in a game this season. His 20-yard gain was the longest rush of the game between both teams.

 

Sean Tucker: 4 Carries, 7 Yards, 1 TD

Tucker handled goal-line duties in this game and punched in a short touchdown. There wasn’t much usage beyond that.

Wide Receiver/Tight End

 

Mike Evans: 12 Targets, 6 Receptions, 132 Yards

Evans returned and looked awesome. The veteran only played 51% of snaps, but made them count. He mossed Falcons cornerback Cobee Bryant for a 45-yard catch on the Bucs’ first drive of the second half. Evans was noticeably battling through some nagging injuries on the sideline, but he was dominant on the field. His 12 targets were his most in a game this season, and it’s also his first 100-yard game since Week 15 of last season. Evans is still clearly Mayfield’s top target on deep balls and boundary routes, setting him up for a strong finish to the season.

 

Chris Godwin: 5 Targets, 4 Receptions, 20 Yards, 1 TD, 2 Point Conversion

Godwin caught a touchdown and followed it up with a two-point conversion to complete the octopus early in the fourth quarter. It was a quiet night otherwise, operating as the N0. 3 target behind Evans and Egbuka. Positively, Godwin is back to full health and led Bucs wideouts with 95% snaps and 37 routes.

Emeka Egbuka: 7 Targets, 4 Receptions, 64 Yards

Mayfield and Egbuka’s connection continues to struggle, with Mayfield often delivering uncatchable balls. Egbuka caught a few downfield targets and drew a pass interference on Falcon star cornerback A.J. Terrell, who had a tough night. Egbuka’s snaps dipped to 64% on Thursday night with Evans and Jalen McMillan back. It’s his third-lowest mark of the season, and he hasn’t been below 85.2% since Week 8.

 

Jalen McMillan: 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 38 Yards

McMillan should have had a touchdown on the Bucs’ second drive, but it was ultimately ruled that he was just short. McMillan had another nice catch in the first half, and it’s great to see him back healthy. The second year-wideout was firmly No. 4 among Bucs wideouts in snaps at 49% and routes at 20.

 

Devin Culp: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 6 Yards, TD

Culp has been active for 11 games this season and had only 36 offensive snaps entering the game with no receiving stats. He saw more with Cade Otton out, and ran up the seam for a nice red zone touchdown for the first touchdown by a Bucs tight end this season.

 

Tez Johnson: 1 Target

Johnson looks like the odd man out with both Evans and McMillan returning.

 

 

 

Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter/X; @justinparadis.bsky.social on BlueSky