Falcon Report

6 Exciting Takeaways from Atlanta Falcons 29-28 Win Over Buccaneers

The Atlanta Falcons found a way in a reversal of fortunes. Typically, they find a way to lose games they probably should have won.
Scott Kennedy|
Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts is closing the season strong, but is it too little, too late?
Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts is closing the season strong, but is it too little, too late? | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

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Atlanta Falcons

Despite 10 penalties in the first half, the Atlanta Falcons took a 14-13 lead into the half against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. However, like so many of their games this season, mistakes piled up in the second half as the Falcons watched that lead turn into a 28-14 deficit.

This time, though, the team fought back. The Falcons stormed back with 15 unanswered points to stun the Buccaneers 29-28.

They Found a Way

Head coach Raheem Morris has repeatedly said the Falcons need to "find a way" this season. He uses that phrase to address any problem the team has had... which have been a lot.

Typically, they've found a way to lose games they should have won.

Thursday night however, they found a way to overcome a multitude of mistakes and beat a reeling Buccaneers team. Special teams held up. After a 1/6 start on third downs, they converted four of the next six.

A pair of fumbles in the fourth quarter found their way back into Falcons's hands (Mooney and Cousins). They set a team record for penalties...

But they found a way.

Kirk Cousins and Kyle Pitts were excellent. David Sills overcame a bad drop for a crucial catch on the game-winning drive, and Bijan Robinson would be an MVP candidate on a winning team.

That’s a Lot of Laundry

For most of the season, the Falcons have been one of the least penalized teams in the NFL. The numbers have gone up in recent weeks, but they were still the sixth least penalized team at 5.6 penalties per game.

That changed on Thursday night. The Falcons had 10 penalties… in the first half. Yes, that was close to a record for any team this season.

They finished with 19 penalties, the most in franchise history and the most by any team this season and the most since the Cleveland Browns in 2019. When a team ends up in a graphic with the Browns, it's usually not a good thing.

The Falcons have perfected finding different ways to lose games this season. In this one, it was the penalties.

James Pearce Gets #7, #8

Rookie edge rusher James Pearce Jr. continues his late push for NFL Defensive Player of the Year. He got his seventh and eighth sacks of the season in the first half, leading all rookies. He has 7.5 sacks in the Falcons' last six games, a blistering pace.

Kyle Pitts in Motion

At 6’6 and 250 pounds, Kyle Pitts is fast, but he’s not overly explosive. He had a 33.5-inch vertical jump at his pro day and didn’t run agility drills (shuttle, 3-cone). However, his 4.44 forty is elite.

He’s not a change-of-direction player; he’s a long strider who is tough to contain once he gets unwound. It took the Falcons four years and 13 games to figure that out.

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Pitts caught the ball in stride with more run after the catch opportunities against the Buccaneers than in what feels like his entire career.

He had 6 catches for 110 yards and two touchdowns in the first half on six targets, all of which were catches in stride. It was the first time this season he’s broken 110 yards. He punished defensive backs trying to stop all of that momentum.

Pitts finished the game with 11 catches for 166 yards and three touchdowns.

Pitts is scheduled to be a free agent at the end of the season, and he’s doing his best to elevate his value in December. If Pitts finishes the month even close to how he played against the Buccaneers, using the franchise tag on him (one year, $15.9 million guaranteed) becomes a bigger debate for the Falcons.

Targeting Cobee

Falcons starting quarterback Mike Hughes limped off in the first quarter and was replaced by undrafted free agent rookie Cobee Bryant. The Buccaneers quickly targeted the reserve, converting a third down with a pass to Mike Evans. They targeted Bryant at least five times on their drive just before the two-minute warning that led to a field goal.

Bryant got a little bit of payback after being picked on, submarining Evans on a high pass just before halftime.

The Falcons must address cornerback and wide receiver in the offseason. They should add at least two players at each position in free agency and the NFL Draft in April.

From Starter to Persona Non Grata

Maybe this wouldn’t be as big of an issue if the Falcons had better depth at certain positions, but their management of the back end of the roster has been questionable at best.

Casey Washington was a Week 1 starter at wide receiver. He played 95% of the team’s offensive snaps. He was underwhelming with three catches for 33 yards on six targets. He missed the next two weeks with a concussion before returning for games 4 and 5 to play 90 total snaps.

He has 19 snaps on offense since the Falcons’ fifth game of the season against Buffalo, and he was a healthy scratch on Thursday.

JD Bertrand was the Falcons’ third linebacker. When Divine Deablo went down with a broken arm, Bertrand was next man up. He played 80 snaps in his first start, a blowout loss to the Miami Dolphins. Those were more snaps than anyone on either team.

He started again the next week against the Patriots. His snap count began to decrease, and then the next week, when the Colts ran for a franchise-worst 323 yards, it was pretty much the last we saw of Bertrand.

Bertrand has played one defensive snap in the Falcons’ last five games and was a healthy scratch against the Buccaneers.

General manager Terry Fontenot has done a good job with his free agent acquisitions for the most part, but signing Jamal Agnew as a return specialist was a big miss. The Falcons are dead last in yards per kickoff return, and Agnew has touched the ball 45 times this season and has three fumbles.

He’s gone from key offseason acquisition to, you guessed it, a healthy scratch against the Buccaneers.

How is the internal scouting on this team so poor that a player can go from a starter to a healthy scratch in just a few short weeks?

Part of the problem is the lack of preseason action for non-established players. Washington didn’t play in the preseason, Agnew was injured, and Bertrand was limited to just four tackles.

Who deemed Washington so valuable that he didn’t need preseason action? He had one catch as a rookie in 2024. We saw enough of Bertrand in 2024 to know he should have been battling for a roster spot, not being put in bubble wrap in the preseason.

Seeing more of these players in game action when the games don’t count might have helped them make better decisions on what they needed and didn’t need heading into the season.

Going from starter to persona non grata in just a few short weeks shows a big problem in self-scouting.

They Kept Fighting

Any questions on whether Morris has lost the locker room should be answered. The Falcons looked like they gave up in the second half last week against the Seahawks. However, on Thursday night, with everything going against them, they kept fighting.

What's Next?

The Falcons are off this weekend on what is considered a mini-bye after a Thursday night game. Next Sunday, they travel to Arizona to take on the 3-10 Cardinals.

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Scott Kennedy
SCOTT KENNEDY

Scott is an Atlanta-based sports media professional with stints as Director of Scouting of Scout.com, VP of Content Production at Sports Illustrated, and Managing Editor at CBS Interactive / 247 Sports, among others.

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