Younghoe Koo kicked a 51-yard field goal on the final play to give the Falcons a hard-fought 16-13 win over the Buccaneers.
It leaves the Falcons alone in first place in the NFC South with a 4-3 record. The Bucs are 3-3.
It was not pretty football, with the Bucs turning it over twice and the Falcons three times. Atlanta was 1-for-5 in the red zone and Tampa Bay was 0-for-2.
Atlanta took a 13-10 lead late in the third quarter on Koo’s second field goal of the day. The Falcons briefly thought they had a two-score lead with 6:30 left on a 12-yard run by Desmond Ridder. But as Ridder and his teammates celebrated in the end zone, replays showed Antoine Winfield knocked the ball out of Ridder’s arm before he crossed the goal line.
The ball went out of the end zone for a touchback.
It was Ridder’s second turnover at the 1-yard line after he lost the snap in the third quarter and Yaya Diaby recovered for the Bucs. Ridder also lost a fumble in the red zone in the first half, costing the Falcons three scoring chances in chip-shot field-goal range.
After Ridder’s third fumble, the Bucs drove to the Atlanta 26, where it appeared they were going to at least tie it. But Mayfield got greedy on a pass intended for Cade Otton, and safety Richie Grant undercut it for the pick at the Atlanta 11.
Tampa Bay finally tied it on a 36-yard field goal by Chase McLaughlin with 45 seconds left, but it left too much time for the Falcons, who also had a last-play field goal in a win over the Texans earlier this season.
Kyle Pitts caught a 39-yard pass to the Tampa Bay 36 on the second play during the team’s five-play, 42-yard, game-winning drive. Bijan Robinson then had his first touch with 33 seconds left, picking up 3 yards. Robinson played only six snaps in the first half, and coach Arthur Smith told Fox sideline reporter Kristina Pink at halftime that the rookie running back was not feeling good.
Ridder finished 19-of-25 for 250 yards with the three lost fumbles in the red zone. Drake London caught six passes for 54 yards.
Mayfield completed 27 of 42 passes for 275 yards with a touchdown — a 40-yarder to Mike Evans — and the costly red zone interception. Evans caught six passes for 82 yards.
