Falcons Stun Buccaneers After Record Penalties in TNF Thriller

TAMPA – As they have many times before this season, the Atlanta Falcons dug themselves a hole in Week 15 that felt like it was too deep to climb out of. They made it harder than it needed to be, but they delivered a stunner over Tampa Bay at the buzzer.

Throughout this game, it felt like the Falcons simply could not get out of their own way.

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Penalties were a defining factor for the Falcons on Thursday night. Their 10 flags for 70 yards in the first half were their most since 1991 and are tied for the second-most against any team in the NFL this season. They finished with 19 total penalties for 125 yards in this game, which sets a franchise record – it was the timing of these flags that hurt the Falcons so much.

Between the offense and defense, four came on a third-down try for the Falcons, three more came on a defensive stand on third-down (one was declined), one came after an Atlanta sack that would have forced third-and-long, and another erased a 30-yard run from Bijan Robinson.

The Falcons, already an underdog in this game, were trying to take down a division rival on the road with one hand tied behind their back all night. They cut drives short and handed the Buccaneers easy scoring opportunities.

And when it was not the penalties undoing them, they were dropping passes that would have likely gone for touchdowns.

DAVID SILLS NOOOOOOOpic.twitter.com/GgnoKXoRv5
— Pick 6 Pack (@Pick6PackFB) December 12, 2025

The Falcons would be forced to punt on this possession just two plays later.

They would go on to trail 28-14 at the start of the fourth quarter, but that is when they were able to turn it on and not look back. They scored 15 unanswered points on the road and swiped a victory from their division rivals.

“We’ve obviously been talking about finding a way, that’s finding a way,” Falcons head coach Raheem Morris said after the game. “You go out there and get a pick from Dee Alford, you go out there and get the play from [David] Sills at the end of the game, and you go out there and put yourself in position to kick that field goal.”

Atlanta would finally find a way, and they would lean on several outstanding performances in the process.

Robinson racked up 175 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown, Kyle Pitts Sr. set career-highs with 166 yards receiving and three touchdowns, and Kirk Cousins had the best performance of his season, throwing for 373 yards and the three scores to Pitts.

“It was the plan all along,” Morris said. “When you’re down a couple guys like Drake, Kyle’s stepped into that role and become the lead-dog. He’s done an awesome job.

“That was some big-time play by him, and that’s stuff we expect.”

The Falcons’ 476 total yards were their most of the season, and only their third instance of eclipsing the 400-yard mark this season – they are 3-0 in those games.

David Sills V was even able to step in and get some redemption for his earlier drop with this fourth-down snag to keep the Falcons' final possession going.

DAVID SILLS REDEMPTIONpic.twitter.com/q5oRIEmPaN
— Underdog NFL (@UnderdogNFL) December 12, 2025

Defensively, a secondary that had been picked on all night came up clutch with a critical fourth-quarter interception from Dee Alford. Jalon Walker and Divine Deablo also combined for a crucial sack on the Buccaneers’ final possession that may have saved the game.

The Falcons players and staff deserve a lot of credit for the way they played in this football game. They entered having been eliminated from the postseason and having nothing left to play for, but they fought to the last moment in a game that would push most over the edge.

Raheem Morris let himself feel the emotion after the game, yelling into a camera, but he stopped short of calling it a cathartic moment.

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“It’s a stepping stone for where we want to go,” Morris said. “We talked about building blocks [for] next year… We’ve been talking about it throughout the whole process. We’ve got a lot of the right things that we like, and we’ve got a lot of things that we love. It’s our job to go out there and prove to our fans that we can do it. The only thing we can do right now is finish.”

After a season defined by missed chances and self-inflicted wounds, Thursday night offered something different. The Falcons provided a glimpse of resilience, of fight, of a team refusing to fold even when the season had already.

The win was not perfect – in fact, it was far from perfect, but it was proof that this Falcons group is still playing hard. Thursday felt like a small step in the right direction, and the Falcons finally finished.

Now they get three more chances to show it wasn’t a one-night thing.