The Tampa Bay Buccaneers faced the Atlanta Falcons in their first divisional game of the 2024 NFL season. After controlling much of the contest, the Buccaneers suffered a last-minute comeback, resulting in a 36-30 loss— their second defeat of the season. Quarterback Baker Mayfield addressed the situation to the media, stepping up to take responsibility for the team’s shortcomings.
Despite a solid individual performance, Mayfield was clear about the Buccaneers‘ plan from now on: “All I care about is wins. 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.”
Mayfield also reflected on a key moment that allowed the Falcons to force overtime. “I’m thinking about missing that shot to (Sterling Shepard), it should have been a touchdown and we ended up with three points. I’m just replaying that one over in my head where maybe it shouldn’t have been an overtime situation,” he said via the team’s website.
The game ended 36-30 for the locals, and with a Mayfield worried about his team. Although he took responsibility for the missed play, Mayfield’s stats on Thursday night told a different story. He completed 19 of 24 attempts for 180 yards, averaging 7.5 yards per pass, with three touchdowns and no interceptions.
Star LT Tristan Wirfs addressed the same topic: “It was a back-and-forth game. We had an opportunity to close it out, and we didn’t. So, it sucks. We have three days to let it steep. It should hurt, it should suck. Just give it a couple weeks, we have the Saints next week and then they (Falcons) are coming to Tampa a couple weeks after that. Gotta move on.”
Buccaneers and their fateful last minutes
Heading into the fourth quarter, the Buccaneers held a 27-20 lead, leaving the Falcons needing to reach the end zone at least once. They managed to close the gap, but a field goal by Chase McLaughlin pushed the Bucs ahead 30-27.
Falcons were in the lead for only 5 minutes during the whole game, and after linebacker Lavonte David picked Kirk Cousins off in Atlanta territory, it seemed like it was over. However, the Bucs lost yardage, and Falcons did a game-tying field goal in the last play of the game
It was overtime, and after cornerback Zyon McCollum missed a tackle, the Falcons WR KhaDarel Hodge won the game with a 45-yard touchdown. After not being able to finish the game, now the NFC South first place belongs to the Falcons, and if the Bucs want to reclaim the top spot and avoid a repeat of last season’s struggles, they’ll have to listen to Mayfield.