The Tampa Bay Buccaneers couldn't close out a three-point lead in the closing minutes in Atlanta on Thursday night and lost in overtime to their NFC South rivals, 36-30. The loss allowed the Falcons to move into a tie for first place with the Buccaneers, as both teams are now 3-2.

"We just have to close out games," said Head Coach Todd Bowles. "We had opportunities on both sides of the ball. We didn't finish. We did some good things; we did a lot of bad things to lose the ballgame. So we'll get some rest and we'll get some guys healthy and we'll get ready for next week. We've got a good football team; we didn't finish the game."

The Buccaneers appeared to have the game in hand after a fourth-down interception by Lavonte David with less than two minutes to play, but they moved backward on the ensuing possession and had to punt it away. Atlanta drove 46 yards on nine plays to set up Younghoe Koo's 52-yard field goal at the end of regulation to send the game into overtime. Atlanta won the toss and scored on the opening drive of the extra possession on a 45-yard catch-and-run by WR KhaDarel Hodge.

Baker Mayfield had another sharp outing for the Buccaneers but Tampa Bay's defense could find few answers for a Kirk Cousins-led Falcons offense, which finished the night with 550 total yards. Cousins completed 42 of 58 passes for 509 yards, four touchdowns and one interception and routinely found open men in critical situations, often over the middle of the field with room to run.

"We were not where we were supposed to be," said Bowles. "We missed a lot of plays. We can't play the Bucs and the Falcons."

Mayfield was 19 of 24 for 180 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions for a passer rating of 137.5. He threw a pair of touchdown passes to Mike Evans in the first half to stake the Bucs to a 17-14 lead, then found Sterling Shepard shortly before halftime to make it 24-17. Tampa Bay's rushing attack picked up a season-high 160 yards and averaged 6.5 yards per carry, as Rachaad White gained 72 yards on 10 carries and Bucky Irving added 44 on nine totes. Irving fumbled on what could have been a close-out drive late in the fourth quarter, but the Buccaneers' defense got the ball back moments later.

"All I care about is wins," said Mayfield. "We've got to find a way to finish that game out on offense. We have to make the plays when they're there. In the second half, we've got to take care of the football and we've got to finish on offense."

Kicker Chase McLaughlin made three field goals, including shots of 52 and 53 yards, and the Buccaneers blocked one of Koo's four attempts in the fourth quarter. But Koo was also good on shots on two field goals of more than 50 yards, including one after the Buccaneers' offense couldn't close out the win in Falcons territory. Lavonte David's interception a desperation fourth-and-15 attempt gave the ball to the Buccaneers at the Atlanta 28 with 1:44 to play but the ensuing drive went backward 15 yards and the resulting punt went into the end zone for a touchback.

Tampa Bay's offense was red-hot in the first half, scoring three touchdowns and a field goal on its first four drives. It marked the first time since 2019 that the Bucs had scored 24-plus first half points in consecutive games, following a dominant 33-16 defeat of Philadelphia four days earlier.

David had another strong outing after his two sack game on Sunday, racking up eight tackles and two passes defensed to go with his late interception. Defensive lineman Logan Hall recorded the first two-sack game of his career and had a total of five quarterback hits. Vita Vea and Anthony Nelson also contributed sacks and CB Zyon McCollum broke up two more passes to give him eight through five games. Still, the Bucs couldn't quite close it out at the end.

"It's a tough loss," said Bowles. "We had an opportunity to win it in every facet of the ballgame. We didn't close it out. We know we have a good football team. We'll get some rest. We've got to finish these games out. We'll get back and regroup next week."

The two offenses dominated in the first half, with the teams combining for 484 yards, 28 touchdowns and 41 points. Atlanta had the only punt of the half, and that came in the closing seconds. The Bucs took a 24-17 lead into the intermission, marking the first time the team had scored 24 points in the first half in consecutive games since 2019.

The Falcons won the toss and elected to start with the ball. Trenton Gill's opening kickoff went to the back of the end zone for a touchback, so Atlanta opened the game at its own 30. Robinson's first-down carry got only two yards thanks to rookie S Tykee Smith's run blitz off the back side. However, TE Kyle Pitts got wide open down the right numbers on the next play and Cousins hit him for a gain of 32. Three plays later, the Falcons faced a third-and-seven at the Bucs' 33 and Cousins found London in a hole in the zone over the middle and hit him for a first down at the 18. Two plays later, London got wide open in the right seam and took a quick-hitter all the way to the end zone for the game's opening score.

RB Sean Tucker gave the Bucs good field position for their first possession, taking the Falcons' opening kickoff back tot the Bucs' 37. Mayfield opened the drive with a 15-yard strike to Evans down the right numbers to get the ball into Falcons territory. White then went up the middle for five yards but Mayfield's next pass was incomplete. On third down, Mayfield found Evans over the middle in heavy traffic for a first down at the 34. Two short runs by White left the Bucs in third-and-nine but a well-blocked tight end screen to Cade Otton was good for 15 and a first down at the 18. Mayfield then found Godwin on a dig route over the middle, with CB Dee Alford just tripping him up at the two before he could get in. On first-and-goal, Mayfield took the snap and rolled right, looking to the corner then suddenly going back to the middle to a wide-open Evans for the game-tying score.

Cousins started the Falcons next drive with a play-action strike to WR Darnell Mooney for 20 yards, and two plays later RB Tyler Allgeier found a seam around right tackle for a first down at the Bucs' 39. Cousins then found WR Ray-Ray McCloud on the left sideline for 15 more to the Bucs' 24. An apparent trick play on first down didn't work, and Smith wrapped London down for a gain of five on second down. On third-and-five, Vea shot a gap and wrapped up Cousins before he could set up for a sack back at the 28. The Falcons sent out ace kicker Younghoe Koo to drill a 46-yard field goal. Koo actually missed his initial attempt but the Bucs were flagged for being offside and he got a second shot. Shockingly, Koo hooked that one wide left, too.

The Bucs thus took over at their own 31. A tunnel screen to Godwin worked as usual, this one for 11 yards out to the left, after which Irving found the left corner for 16 more to the Atlanta 42. Mayfield faked a handoff on the next snap and threw deep to WR Sterling Shepard on a post but the ball was out of Shepard's reach. Another quick strike to Godwin made it third-and-three, but the two failed on a third-down hookup and the Bucs sent out Chase McLaughlin to try a 53-yard field goal. He nailed it to give the Bucs a 10-7 lead with 1:22 left in the first quarter.

After a touchback, Robinson got six yards on a pitch to the left but was surrounded on second down and got just one. The Falcons went into a hurry-up attack and Cousins found Mooney for a gain of seven on the last play of the first quarter. Cousins was chased into a throwaway on first down but LB K.J. Britt drew a personal foul flag on the next play making it first down at the Bucs' 41. The Falcons incurred a holding call on the next snap but two plays later Cousins found Hodge in a hole in the zone for 22 yards to the Bucs' 21. Another holding call pushed the Falcons back and LB Lavonte David broke up a pass intended for Pitts to make it third-and-14. However, Cousins threaded an incredible pass through traffic to Mooney on the next snap for the Falcons' go-ahead touchdown.

Tucker took a bouncing kickoff and worked up the left sideline, breaking tackles for a return of 53 yards to the Atlanta 44. Otton made a nice extended-arms catch on first down and weaved through some traffic on the right sideline for a gain of 22, but a run right by White lost one on the next play. Mayfield then stood in against the pressure on second down and delivered a strike down the left sideline to Evans for a 23-yard score that put the Bucs back up, 17-14, with 10 minutes left in the first half.

Two plays into the ensuing drive, Cousins hit Pitts on an in-breaking route that was good for another 18 yards, followed by a six-yard tackle-breaking run by Robinson. A quick-hitter to Pitts made it first down at the Bucs' 38. S Jordan Whitehead was taking Cousins down for a sack on the next play when the QB flipped the ball out and took an intentional grounding penalty. Bowles threw the challenge flag hoping to get a ruling of a fumble but the call was upheld. Two short completions made it fourth-and-eight at the Bucs' 36 and Koo came out to try a 54-yarder. This time he nailed it to tie the game with just over six minutes left in the half.

WR Cody Thompson took the ensuing kickoff out of the end zone but only got to the 18. Irving sliced up the middle on first down for 11 yards, and White broke free on a misdirection run on the next snap for a career-long 56-yard jaunt. Irving turned a short pass into a nine-yard gain and then ran over right tackle for a first down at the two. Two plays later, White was tripped up at the four on a short pass, making it third-and-goal and bringing on the two-point conversion. After the break, Mayfield took the snap, rolled right and zipped a pass through traffic to Shepard for the four-yard score.

The Falcons got the ball back with 1:56 left in the half and followed an incompletion with an 11-yard curl to London, then got off strikes of seven yards to London and five to Robinson. That took the ball to the Bucs' 47 with exactly a minute left. Two more short passes made it first down at the Bucs' 31 with 34 seconds remaining. Whitehead nearly intercepted Cousins' next pass and Hall swarmed over the QB for an eight-yard loss to make it third-and-18. Cousins' next pass was incomplete so the Falcons punted it away. With 12 seconds left in the half, the Bucs kneeled to take it to the intermission.

The Bucs got good field position to start the second half after Irving took the kickoff out of the end zone and got back to the 37. Unfortunately, a holding penalty on T Justin Skule put the offense in a hole they weren't able to get out of, leading to the Bucs' first punt of the game. The resulting 44-yard kick was fair caught at the Atlanta 20.

Dean broke up Cousins' first-down pass but London got open down the right seam for a gain of 31. Two plays later, CB Zyon McCollum nearly intercepted a sideline pass intended for Mooney to make it third-and-10. After a quick seven-yard pass, the Falcons went for it on third down and converted on Cousins' 14-yard dart to Mooney on the left sideline. That made it first down at the Bucs' 28, and a quick out to Pitts two snaps later set up a new set of downs at the 18. An offensive pass interference call on the Falcons backed them up 10 yards, and Nelson got Cousins down for an eight-yard sack two plays later, making it third-and-22. After an incompletion, Koo came on to hit a 48-yard field goal to cut the Bucs' lead to 24-20 with just over six minutes remaining in the third quarter.

After a touchback, Godwin took a short pass for 20 yards. He fumbled at the end of the play but Evans fell on it to retain possession for the Buccaneers. Another pass to Godwin out to the right got 10 more but Irving's next run was bottled up for no gain. Mayfield took off on a scramble on the next snap and the ball within a yard of the sticks. An end-around to Godwin got just enough for a first down and a late hit by JD Bertrand moved it down to the Falcons' 14. Three plays later, on third-and-three from the seven, Mayfield was sacked by DL David Onyemata and McLaughlin came out to restore the Bucs' seven-point lead with a 32-yard field goal.

A short completion and a pass defensed by Smith made it third-and-eight to start Atlanta's next drive but Cousins found McCloud on a deep dig for 22 yards to the Bucs' 46. Robinson broke a tackle on the next snap to get 28 more as the third quarter came to an end. On first down from the Bucs' 18, Robinson went over right tackle and got six, followed by a two-yard plunge in the same direction. The Bucs' defense stopped Allgeier for a loss of two on third down but the Falcons went for it on fourth down, hustled the line and scored an a 12-yard pass to Mooney with 13 minutes left in regulation.

After a touchback, Mayfield started the next drive with a square-in to Evans for 13 yards. Mayfield then dropped back and saw a wide-open lane to run for 18 more to the Atlanta 39. The Bucs then faced a third-and-nine at the 38 and called a timeout before calling the next play. Mayfield was forced to scramble and he got three yards, bringing on McLaughlin to try a 53-yarder. He split the uprights to make it 30-27 with 10:23 left.

A screen to Robinson was good for five yards to start the next drive but his next run got only one. David broke up a third-down pass to Mooney but was called for pass interference, setting up a new set of downs. Two snaps later, Cousins found London over the middle for 15 to the Bucs' 40. A holding call backed Atlanta up 10 yards, and a screen to McCloud only got four. Two plays later, on third-and-six, Mooney dropped a wide-open pass and the Falcons sent out Koo to try a 54-yard field goal. Thomas blocked it, giving the ball back to Tampa Bay with 6:29 left.

A five-yard scramble by Mayfield on third down gave the Bucs a first down to start the next drive, and White later converted a third-and-two with a three-yard rumble. Irving took off on a seven-yard run on the next play but had the ball stripped by S Jessie Bates, with Kaden Elliss recovering for the Falcons at the Atlanta 25.

A tackles for loss by Yaya Diaby and a sack by Hall put the Falcons in a third-and-19 hole. A short pass to Allgeier only got four but the Falcons chose to go for it on fourth down right after the two-minute warning. Cousins tried to hit Mooney on the right sideline but was intercepted by David, who got the ball back to the Atlanta 28.

A holding call on the ensuing drive was a factor in the Bucs backing up to the Atlanta 43. The ensuing punt went into the end zone for a touchback.

Atlanta had 1:12 left and no timeouts when they took over at their own 20. Two plays into the drive, Cousins hit Mooney for 17 yards. A six-yard out converted a third-and-one, making it first down at the Bucs' 43. McCollum broke up a pass over the middle with 12 seconds left. A completion over the middle to London and a spike to stop the clock put the ball at the 29 and, after a delay of game penalty, Koo drilled a 52-yarder to tie the game and send it to overtime.

Atlanta won the toss to start overtime and quickly fell into a third-and-three. Cousins converted that with a quick pass up the numbers to London for 18 yards. On the next play, Cousins threw a quick pass to Hodge, who evaded a tackler and dashed 45 yards for the game-winning score.