The painful irony of losing to the Falcons despite 19 penalties
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers fell to 7-7 with an ugly loss to the Atlanta Falcons Thursday Night Football. Tampa Bay has now dropped five of its last six games, including back-to-back losses to division rivals. And the Buccaneers’ playoff odds went down after the team’s prime-time collapse.
Despite a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter, the Bucs couldn’t stop the Falcons. Kirk Cousins led the way with three goals in the final quarter and set up Zane Gonzalez for the game-winning shot as time expired. Atlanta’s win is even more impressive considering the team overcame 19 penalties on Thursday night.
The Falcons became the 12th team in the Super Bowl era to draw 19 flags in a game, according to NFL reporter Jay Morrison. And they are only the fourth team to win a game after taking that many penalties. Incredibly, the Buccaneers were also the last team to lose when an opponent had 19 or more penalties.
Falcons storm past Buccaneers on TNF
Tampa Bay is now two of only four losses in the Super Bowl era when the referees have awarded 19 penalties to the opposition. The last time that happened was in Week 8 of 2016 when the Raiders committed an NFL record 23 penalties. And the Buccaneers lost the game 30-24.
On Thursday night, Tampa Bay was unable to pull away from Atlanta. Despite already being eliminated from the playoffs, the Falcons continued to fight. Cousins left with 373 yards and three touchdowns. I Kyle Pitts had a monster gamewith 11 receptions for 166 yards and three scores.
The Buccaneers still control their own destiny. If they can beat the Carolina Panthers twice in the next three weeks, they will clinch the division and make the playoffs. But he has little faith in Tampa Bay after the team’s recent performance.
A A furious Todd Bowles blamed his players for a brutal defeat 29-28. And Baker Mayfield tried to take all the blame for the collapse when he spoke to reporters after the TNF disaster.
The Bucs travel to Carolina in Week 16 to face the Panthers in the first of two must-win divisional matchups. Fans can only hope that the mini-bye will give the team time to iron out their issues.
2025-12-12 07:38:00
