If the Bucs are going to stop the bleeding on their season, and get back in control of the NFC South, they will need a comeback. And, they will need to figure out how to slow Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts.
Pitts has six catches for 110 yards and two touchdowns, and the Falcons have a 14-13 halftime lead.
Pitts has touchdown receptions of 8 and 17 yards, with the latter coming with 38 seconds left in the half to give Atlanta its first lead of the night at 14-10.
The Bucs hurt themselves on Pitts’ first touchdown. They had the Falcons stopped on third down and settling for a 31-yard Zane Gonzalez field goal, but Bucs cornerback Zyon McCollum was penalized for being offsides. The 5-yard penalty on fourth-and-4 allowed the Falcons to take the points off the board.
On the next play, Pitts scored.
The Falcons have outgained the Bucs 222 to 185. Kirk Cousins is 12-of-16 for 155 yards and two touchdowns, and Bijan Robinson has three catches for 25 yards and 10 rushes for 64 yards.
If not for 10 penalties for 70 yards, the Falcons might lead by more.
Bucs wide receiver Mike Evans has returned from his broken collarbone, which kept him out most of the season, to catch three passes for 57 yards. Baker Mayfield is 9-of-19 for 145 yards.
Sean Tucker had a 1-yard touchdown run, and Chase McLaughlin kicked field goals of 49 and 52 yards, with the latter coming on the final play of the half.
Bucs Clips
The Buccaneers, who led 7-0, stopped the Falcons on third down in the red zone. Atlanta seemingly settled for a 31-yard Zane Gonzalez field goal, but Bucs cornerback Zyon McCollum was penalized for being offsides.
It was close whether he got back out of the neutral zone before the snap. The 5-yard penalty on fourth-and-4 allowed the Falcons to take the points off the board.
On the next play, Kirk Cousins found tight end Kyle Pitts for an 8-yard touchdown.
The game is tied 7-7 with 12:11 left in the second quarter.
Cousins is 8-of-10 for 83 yards and a touchdown, with Pitts catching three passes for 47 yards. Bijan Robinson has six carries for 33 yards.
The Buccaneers have lost four of their past five games. They desperately need a win tonight to stop the bleeding.
Tampa Bay has taken a 7-0 lead on Atlanta with 1:38 left in the first quarter.
Baker Mayfield’s throw to Jalen McMillan was ruled a 20-yard touchdown initially but reversed by replay to a 19-yard gain to the 1. Running back Sean Tucker scored two plays later.
The Bucs drove 83 yards in 11 plays.
The drive included Mike Evans’ first catch, which went for a 12-yard gain, in his first game back since breaking his collarbone in Week 7.
Mayfield is 4-of-9 for 65 yards, with Emeka Egbuka catching a 23-yard pass.
Falcons cornerback Mike Hughes is in the X-ray room, questionable to return with a right ankle injury. He was injured on Rachaad White’s 20-yard run with 5:06 left.
Mike Evans is officially back.
After the Buccaneers activated their legendary receiver on Wednesday, Evans is active for Thursday night’s game against the Falcons.
Evans has been sidelined since suffering a fractured collarbone in October. He’s caught 14 passes for 140 yards with a touchdown so far this season.
The Buccaneers will also have second-year receiver Jalen McMillan on the field, as he is active for the first time in 2025. He suffered a neck injury during the preseason.
Additionally, left tackle Tristan Wirfs is active after missing last week’s game with an oblique injury.
For the Falcons, tight end Kyle Pitts is active after he was listed as questionable with a knee injury. Receiver Drake London, however, was previously ruled out with his knee injury.
Edge rusher Jalon Walker, defensive lineman Brandon Dorlus, and defensive lineman David Onyemata are also active after being listed as questionable.
Tampa Bay’s inactives are quarterback Connor Bazelak, linebacker SirVocea Dennis, guard Elijah Klein, cornerback Benjamin Morrison, tight end Cade Otton, defensive lineman Elijah Simmons, and safety Tykee Smith.
Atlanta’s inactives are London, receiver Jamal Agnew, linebacker J.D. Bertrand, defensive tackle Elijah Garcia, receiver Malik Heath, offensive tackle Michael Jerrell, and receiver Casey Washington.
The Falcons will be short one member of the coaching staff for Thursday night’s game against the Buccaneers.
The team announced that running backs coach Michael Pitre will not be with the team. Pitre’s absence is due to a personal matter.
Offensive assistants K.J. Black and Patrick Kramer will take over Pitre’s responsibilities on Thursday. Black has been on the staff since 2024 while Kramer has been with the team since 2021.
Pitre has been the team’s running backs coach since 2022. He was previously a running backs coach with the Bears and on the collegiate level. The Falcons are 12th in the league with 123.6 rushing yards per game.
Week 15 begins with a game the Buccaneers need to win if they want to stay in first place in the NFC South, and continues with several other games that have playoff implications. Here’s how the NFL playoff picture looks heading into Thursday Night Football in Week 15:
AFC Playoff Picture
DIVISION LEADERS
1. Broncos (11-2) If they win out, they’re the No. 1 seed in the AFC, as they own the tiebreaker over the Patriots.
2. Patriots (11-2) Their lead in the AFC East looks safe, but to earn the No. 1 seed they have to hope the Broncos lose a game.
3. Jaguars (9-4) After beating the Colts, they’re the clear favorites in the AFC South.
4. Steelers (7-6) Got their biggest win of the season in Baltimore.
WILD CARDS
5. Chargers (9-4) First in the wild card race thanks to a better AFC record than the Bills.
6. Bills (9-4) Probably won’t catch the Patriots in the AFC East even if they win on Sunday, but in great shape for a wild card.
7. Texans (8-5) Own the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Colts.
OUTSIDE LOOKING IN
8. Colts (8-5) Getting to the playoffs may require a miraculous performance from Philip Rivers.
9. Ravens (6-7) Losing at home to the Steelers was costly.
10. Chiefs (6-7) Kansas City could be eliminated as soon as Sunday, and probably can’t make the playoffs even if they run the table.
11. Dolphins (6-7) Best of the bad teams in the AFC.
12. Bengals (4-9) Clinched a losing record with their loss in Buffalo.
13. Jets (3-10) Mathematically eliminated.
14. Browns (3-10) Mathematically eliminated.
15. Raiders (2-11) Mathematically eliminated.
16. Titans (2-11) Mathematically eliminated.
NFC Playoff Picture
DIVISION LEADERS
1. Rams (10-3) Own the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Seahawks in the NFC West.
2. Packers (9-3-1) Big win over the Bears.
3. Eagles (8-5) Defending champions are on a three-game losing streak but still have a 1.5-game lead over the Cowboys in the NFC East.
4. Buccaneers (7-6) Still lead the NFC South heading into Thursday night’s game, thanks to the common games tiebreaker with the Panthers.
WILD CARDS
5. Seahawks (10-3) Need to win their rematch with the Rams on December 18.
6. 49ers (9-4) Despite a lot of injuries, they remain in playoff position.
7. Bears (9-4) If they run the table they win the NFC North.
OUTSIDE LOOKING IN
8. Lions (8-5) If they run the table they’re guaranteed of at least a wild card berth.
9. Panthers (7-6) Two games remaining against the Buccaneers will determine who wins the NFC South.
10. Cowboys (6-6-1) They probably need to run the table, and even then they may not make the playoffs.
11. Vikings (5-8) Last place in the NFC North.
12. Falcons (4-9) Mathematically eliminated.
13. Cardinals (3-10) Mathematically eliminated.
14. Saints (3-10) Mathematically eliminated.
15. Commanders (3-10) Mathematically eliminated.
16. Giants (2-11) Mathematically eliminated.
Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins will start his fourth straight game on Thursday night, against a familiar foe in Tampa.
Last year, Cousins had two excellent showings against the Buccaneers, engineering victories in each contest.
On a Thursday night in Atlanta, Cousins set a franchise record with 509 passing yards, four touchdowns, and one interception in a 36-30 overtime win. In the rematch, Cousins threw for 276 yards and four touchdowns in a 31-26 win.
This time around, the Falcons are decidedly in the role of spoiler. They’ve been eliminated from postseason contention, and they’ve lost seven of eight. Their only opportunity is to drop the Buccaneers to 7-7.
For Cousins, who likely will be released after the season (then again, who knows?), it’s an opportunity to lay the foundation for an opportunity in 2026 before a prime-time audience.
The Buccaneers offense is set to get a couple of shots in the arm for Thursday night’s game against the Falcons.
They announced that wide receivers Mike Evans and Jalen McMillan have been activated from injured reserve. Evans has been out since breaking his collarbone in Week 7 and McMillan has missed the whole year with a neck injury.
Evans and McMillan were both listed as questionable on the team’s final injury report, but it’s unlikely that the Bucs would have activated either wideout if they thought they were going to miss the matchup with Atlanta. Official word on their inactive list will come 90 minutes ahead of kickoff on Thursday.
Assuming they are active, it will be the first time that Evans, McMillan and Chris Godwin are all in the lineup since Week 7 of the 2024 season.
The return of the receivers should provide a needed boost to a team that has only scored 47 points over the course of their current three-game losing streak. They enter Week 15 tied with the Panthers atop the NFC South and play Carolina twice in the final three weeks of the season.
Defensive lineman C.J. Brewer and wide receiver Ryan Miller were waived in corresponding moves.
Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles noted earlier on Wednesday that Mike Evans has shown what he’s needed to in practice as the receiver returns from a fractured collarbone.
But it’s still not completely certain that Evans will suit up for Thursday’s matchup against the Falcons.
Tampa Bay has listed Evans as questionable for the contest.
Evans has been limited on all three practice reports this week.
In his 12th pro season, Evans has not played since the Oct. 20 loss to Detroit. He’s caught 14 passes for 140 yards with a touchdown so far in 2025.
Receiver Jalen McMillan (neck) is also questionable for Thursday after being listed as limited all three days this week.
Tight end Cade Otton (knee) and safety Tykee Smith (neck/shoulder) are both doubtful to play.
Linebacker SirVocea Dennis (hip) and safety Rashad Wisdom (quad) have been ruled out.
Quarterback Baker Mayfield (left shoulder) was listed as a full participant for all three injury reports and is set to play.
Receiver Chris Godwin Jr. (fibula), running back Bucky Irving (shoulder), safety Christian Izien (neck), cornerback Benjamin Morrison (hamstring), outside linebacker Haason Reddick (ankle), and offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs (oblique) are all off the injury report and are set to play.
The Falcons will still be without their top receiver this week.
Atlanta has ruled Drake London out for Thursday night’s game against the Buccaneers.
Sidelined by a knee injury, London has not played since Atlanta’s Nov. 16 overtime loss to Carolina. In nine games this season, London has caught 60 passes for 810 yards with six touchdowns.
London was listed as a non-participant on all three injury reports this week.
The Falcons also have four players listed as questionable for the game: tight end Kyle Pitts (knee), edge rusher Jaylon Walker (quad), defensive lineman Brandon Dorlus (groin), and defensive lineman David Onyemata (foot).
While cornerback A.J. Terrell has been dealing with a neck injury, he did not receive a game designation and is expected to play tomorrow night.
