The Atlanta Falcons are this shut to being 0-5.
They do not care, nor ought to they. For the third time this season the Falcons stared down a loss and someway pulled out a miraculous win. This time it was a Thursday evening showdown towards the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Falcons had an enormous drive within the last two minutes of regulation to arrange a game-tying discipline aim because the fourth quarter expired. Time beyond regulation did not final lengthy.
KhaDarel Hodge took a move in extra time, broke a deal with and scored a 45-yard landing on the primary drive of extra time and the Falcons had a 36-30 extra time win. Kirk Cousins threw for 509 yards in a implausible efficiency. The Falcons are 3-2 after the win, tied with the Buccaneers atop the NFC South.
The Falcons appeared completed a couple of instances on Thursday evening. However they someway pulled out an inconceivable win, the third time they’ve completed so in 5 weeks.
An explosive 1st half
The Falcons and Buccaneers had no hassle shifting the ball within the first half. They began the evening with a protracted drive that ended on a Drake London landing. The Buccaneers got here proper again with a Mike Evans landing.
Each quarterbacks stored throwing uppercuts. Within the first half alone, Cousins accomplished 21 of 28 passes for 253 yards and two touchdowns. Cousins hadn’t performed anyplace close to that degree for the primary month of his Falcons profession. On the opposite aspect, Baker Mayfield was 12-of-15 for 131 yards and three touchdowns. Perhaps that every one needed to do with two drained defenses on a brief week — the Falcons have been the primary staff all season and not using a quarterback stress within the first half of a sport, in accordance with Subsequent Gen Stats — nevertheless it nonetheless made for an entertaining half.
Mayfield’s third landing was a implausible throw. He rolled to his proper and caught it right into a well-covered Sterling Shepard ultimately zone for a landing. There was nearly no separation however Mayfield discovered a technique to squeeze it in for a rating.
The Buccaneers lastly received a cease on the Falcons’ last drive of the half and led 24-17 going into halftime. Not counting Tampa Bay’s kneeldown to finish the primary half, they scored on all 4 of their first-half possessions whereas the Falcons scored on three of 5, with a missed discipline aim and a punt protecting the offenses from being good earlier than halftime.
Recreation is shut deep into the 4th quarter
The defenses lastly tightened up a bit within the second half. Yards have been tougher to return by. For the third quarter and the primary half of the fourth quarter, the one landing from both staff was Cousins hitting Darnell Mooney for Mooney’s second landing of the sport.
Mooney had an enormous mistake within the fourth quarter although. On third-and-6, Cousins had a pleasant throw to Mooney, who had come open, however he dropped it at in regards to the 15-yard line. Younghoe Koo needed to come on for a 54-yard discipline aim and it was blocked.
It appeared the Buccaneers have been going to win the sport a pair instances after that, however the Falcons would not go away. Buccaneers rookie working again Bucky Irving was heading for a primary down simply earlier than the two-minute warning when security Jessie Bates III reached in and punched the ball out. Atlanta recovered, however could not transfer the ball after which Cousins threw a fourth-down interception. The Falcons nonetheless had their timeouts although, and used them to drive a punt.
Then Cousins, like he did towards the Eagles in Week 2, put collectively an awesome two-minute drill. He hit London over the center and the Falcons spiked it with one second left. There was a nasty delay of sport penalty earlier than Koo’s try to tie the sport, nevertheless it did not matter. He hit it from 52 yards out and the sport went to extra time. Final week Koo hit a 58-yard discipline aim within the last seconds to drag out a win for the Falcons, and his clutch kick on Thursday evening stored the sport alive.
The Falcons received the coin toss to begin extra time and received it shortly. London left with an harm after an extra time catch, which put Hodge within the highlight and he got here by way of with the successful rating.
Atlanta has three razor-thin wins, however the Falcons aren’t complaining.
