The Falcons had a chance to take a tighter grip on the NFC South on Sunday, but their lead in the division wound up slipping through their fingers.
Baker Mayfield’s touchdown pass to Cade Otton with 31 seconds left to play in the game gave the Buccaneers a 29-25 road win over the Falcons. The loss came after the Falcons came back to score 15 fourth quarter points and take a three-point lead over the visitors, but they couldn’t get the final stop they needed to seal the win.
As a result of that result and the Saints win, all three teams are now 6-7 — the Bucs hold the tiebreaker edge at present — with four games left to play. Falcons head coach Arthur Smith focused on how tight things are in the division rather than lamenting Sunday’s result when he spoke to reporters after the game.
“We didn’t get it done today, but our spirit is not broken,” Smith said, via the team’s website. “We’re still in it. It’ll be a wild adventure through the end of this season. Things change so much from week to week. . . . Down the stretch, we have to win games.”
The schedule offers the Falcons some help in that department. They’ll be in Carolina to face the 1-12 Panthers next weekend.
