Atlanta Falcons rally to play spoiler against Tampa Bay Buccaneers with game-winning field goal on Thursday Night Football

Having already been eliminated from postseason contention, the Atlanta Falcons had nothing to play for on Thursday Night Football other than pride — and to play spoiler to a division rival on the road.

Well, the Falcons did just that, rallying from a 14-point fourth quarter deficit to shock the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a 43-yard, game-winning field goal for a 29-28 upset at Raymond James Stadium.

Kirk Cousins completed 30 of 44 passes for 373 yards and three touchdowns — all three TDs to wideout Kyle Pitts Sr. who finished with 11 catches and 166 receiving yards.

Instead of pulling ahead of the Carolina Panthers in the NFC South, the Buccaneers fell to 7-7 with their chances to clinch the division falling to roughly 54 percent now. The dejecting loss came on a night where the Buccaneers welcomed back star wide receiver Mike Evans who had six catches for 132 yards. 

The Panthers (7-6) play the New Orleans Saints on Sunday before they host the Buccaneers in Week 16. Carolina and Tampa Bay will then meet again to close out the regular season in Week 18.

On Thursday night, the Falcons, down 14 points with 13:34 remaining in the fourth quarter, launched their comeback. They first assembled an eight-play, 65-yard drive, resulting in a six-yard touchdown rush by Bijan Robinson to narrow the Bucs’ lead to 28-20.

Though Atlanta would fail at its two-point conversion attempt, Falcons cornerback Dee Alford intercepted Baker Mayfield during Tampa Bay’s next drive and 10 plays later, Cousins found Pitts Sr. for a seven-yard touchdown pass to pull the Falcons to within 28-26.

They’d fail at another two-point conversion due to Cousins’ pocket collapsing under pressure but Mayfield and the Buccaneers didn’t do themselves any favors by punting after six plays in under two minutes.

That put the ball back in Cousins’ hands and the veteran quarterback made the most of the opportunity, first finding David Sills for a 17-yard gain. Though a sack, offensive holding penalty and incomplete pass put the Falcons in a 3^rd-and-28 possession, Cousins cut that yardage in half with a dart to Kyle Pitts Sr.

With 49 seconds left and facing a crucial fourth down, Cousins went deep right to David Sills for the first down.

The clutch connection helped the Falcons set up Gonzalez for the 43-yard game-winning field goal, which he stuck just inside left of the upright for the improbable win.

The defeat was deflating for the Buccaneers in their postseason pursuit which they just made harder for themselves. After trailing 14-13 at halftime, the Buccaneers welcomed back Evans with a deep jump ball which the six-time Pro Bowler hauled in for a 45-yard gain.

A few plays later and Mayfield found tight end David Culp for a touchdown as the Bucs pulled ahead 20-14 during the third quarter. They'd extend that lead to 28-14 in the fourth as a result of Mayfield connecting with Chris Godwin Jr. for a short touchdown and two-point conversion in the same spot.

Still, that 14-point edge was not enough to hold off the Falcons (5-9).