After Bijan Robinson fumbled on the Falcons’ previous possession, he scored a touchdown to get his team back in the game.
Robinson’s 6-yard run, followed by an incompletion on the 2-point attempt, has the Falcons within 28-20 of the Bucs with 9:37 to play in the fourth quarter.
The Falcons went 65 yards in eight plays after the Bucs had converted Robinson’s fumble into a Chris Godwin touchdown and two-point conversion.
David Sills had a 20-yard reception and Kyle Pitts an 18-yarder on the drive. Pitts has eight receptions for 135 yards and two touchdowns.
Robinson has eight catches for 82 yards and 15 carries for 76 yards and the touchdown, but the fumble looms large.
The Falcons have 17 penalties for 110 yards.
What can go wrong has for the Falcons tonight, much of it their own doing.
The Falcons have 16 penalties for 110 yards, with A.J. Terrell cited four times for defensive pass interference, including one that was declined. Terrell’s most recent penalty came against Mike Evans at the Atlanta 5-yard line, with the 10-yard penalty helping set up Chris Godwin’s first touchdown of the season.
Godwin caught a 3-yard pass from Baker Mayfield for the score and then had the 2-point conversion reception to give the Bucs a 28-14 lead with 13:34 left in the fourth quarter.
The Bucs needed only four plays to go 25 yards after safety Christian Izien forced a Bijan Robinson that Jacob Parrish recovered.
Mayfield now has 257 yards passing and two touchdowns, and Evans has six catches for 132 yards.
Welcome back, Mike Evans.
The Buccaneers’ No. 1 receiver, who is playing his first game since Week 7 when he broke his collarbone, has four catches for 102 yards. It is his first 100-yard game since Week 15 of last season.
He was instrumental on the Bucs’ go-ahead score, with a 45-yard reception to the Falcons 12.
The biggest play, though, was Dee Alford’s penalty for illegal contact on an incompletion on third-and-13. The Falcons also have penalties for a facemask and for tripping on the nine-play, 90-yard drive.
The Falcons have 14 penalties for 90 yards.
Tight end Devin Culp, who had only five catches for 88 yards and no touchdowns in his career, caught a 6-yard touchdown from Baker Mayfield to give Tampa Bay a 20-14 lead with 6:22 left in the third quarter.
Buccaneers cornerback Zyon McCollum had arguably the biggest play of Thursday Night Football thus far.
He was called for being offsides on a chip-shot field goal by Zane Gonzalez, giving the Falcons a first down that they converted into a touchdown on the next play. Atlanta leads 14-13 early in the third quarter.
McCollum now is out of the game with an injury.
He injured his hip on Kirk Cousins’ 11-yard pass to Kyle Pitts with 6:37 remaining in the second quarter. The Bucs initially listed McCollum as questionable to return but ruled him out in the third quarter.
He left with no stats.
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.
