Kirk Cousins leads Falcons to 29-28 comeback victory over the reeling Buccaneers

TAMPA Fla AP Kirk Cousins threw three touchdown passes to Kyle Pitts Sr and Zane Gonzalez kicked a -yard field goal as time expired to complete the Atlanta Falcons rally for a - domination domination over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday night Facing a third-and- on the Falcons final drive Cousins completed passes of yards to Pitts and yards on fourth-and- to David Sills V to set up Gonzalez The Falcons - overcame a franchise-record penalties and a - fourth-quarter deficit Baker Mayfield threw a crucial interception in the fourth quarter as the Buccaneers - lost for the fifth time in six games to fall a half-game behind Carolina in the NFC South The four-time defending division champions face the Panthers - twice in the final three games Wearing their Creamsicle jerseys on the th anniversary of the franchise s first win that one came after an - start the Buccaneers were booed off the field After Pitts made a leaping acrobatic grab for a -yard TD with remaining to pull the Falcons within - Cousins was pressured and threw incomplete on the -point conversion try The Falcons forced the Buccaneers to punt and got the ball at their with no timeouts and to go Haason Reddick sacked Cousins forcing a fumble that the Buccaneers grabbed coming out of the pile But executives ruled it was recovered by both group simultaneously and the Falcons kept the ball Pitts finished with catches for yards becoming the first tight end with yards receiving and three TDs since Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe did it in Cousins went of for yards Mayfield tossed a -yard TD pass to Devin Culp the second-year pro s first scoring reception in the NFL that made it - On the ensuing drive Sills dropped what should have been a -yard TD catch and the Falcons ended up punting Bijan Robinson fumbled on Atlanta s next possession after taking a shot from Christian Izien and Jacob Parrish recovered at the Falcons Mayfield fired a -yard TD pass to Chris Godwin Jr and the two connected for the -point conversion to extend the lead to - But Robinson s -yard TD run cut the deficit to - with under minutes left After the Falcons missed the -point try Dee Alford picked Mayfield s pass and Atlanta drove yards for a points Mayfield had all of his wide receivers available for the first time this season after six-time Pro Bowl pick Mike Evans and second-year pro Jalen McMillan were activated from injured reserve Evans broke his clavicle on Oct McMillan broken three vertebrae in his neck in the preseason Evans made an immediate impact catching six passes for yards and drawing several penalties Pitts was wide open for his first two TD catches He caught a -yard pass from Cousins to give the Falcons a - lead under one minute left in the first half Cousins tossed an -yard TD pass to Pitts to tie it at one play after an offside penalty on cornerback Zyon McCollum during a field goal gave Atlanta a first down Cousins beat the Buccaneers twice last year in his first season with Atlanta He threw for yards eight touchdowns and only one interception He had yards passing against them in one of the wins Chase s leg Tampa Bay s Chase McLaughlin connected on field goals of and yards He s for from yards or beyond Injuries Falcons WR Drake London knee was inactive CB Mike Hughes ankle left in the first quarter Buccaneers McCollum hip left in the first half LG Ben Bredeson knee was out after being placed on injured reserve DB Tykee Smith neck shoulder LB SirVocea Dennis hip TE Cade Otton knee and CB Benjamin Morrison hamstring were inactive Up next Falcons Visit Arizona next Sunday Buccaneers Visit Carolina next Sunday AP NFL https apnews com hub nfl Source