The Buccaneers lost to the Atlanta Falcons 31-26 in Week 8

Tampa Bay's offense found new ways to move the ball in the sudden absence of Chris Godwin and Mike Evans in Week 8, but three turnovers caused them to fall behind in a thrilling matchup with the Atlanta Falcons. The Buccaneers gained 432 yards on offense and Baker Mayfield threw for 330 yards even without his top two targets, but his two interceptions inside the Falcons' 10-yard line and a Rachaad White fumble on the second play were enough to tie one Victory to seal a 31-26 loss on Sunday at Raymond James Stadium.

The loss dropped the Buccaneers to 4-4 and one game behind the 5-3 Falcons in the NFC South race. The Falcons ended the season with a 36-30 overtime win at Atlanta in Week 5, effectively holding a two-game lead in the division. The Buccaneers have lost three of their last four games and now have to play last year's conference champions, Kansas City and San Francisco. After falling to .500, the Bucs are looking to avoid the long swoon they experienced midway through last season.

“This has nothing to do with last year,” head coach Todd Bowles said. “It's frustrating because we make mistakes and beat ourselves. This is the problem we have to solve. We cannot play against ourselves and the opponent. Whether it's the difficult ones or the easy ones, it doesn't matter who we play against. We have to play better in the next two weeks to win.”

The Falcons' offense generated 394 yards of offense as Kirk Cousins ​​threw four touchdown passes and, most importantly, no interceptions. Atlanta technically refused to concede defeat, but a botched snap fumble in the fourth quarter turned into a safety and helped the Bucs get within five points with seven minutes to play. Unfortunately, Atlanta followed TE Cade Otton's second touchdown catch with a field goal drive that took the clock down to a minute. Younghoe Koo missed a 46-yard field goal attempt and gave the Bucs a chance to win it with a miraculous touchdown drive.

The Bucs didn't have a timeout on their final drive, but Mayfield carried the offense all the way to the Atlanta 33. In the end, a final Hail Mary attempt caused some excitement in the back of the end zone, but was ultimately incomplete.

Despite the self-inflicted wounds, the Buccaneers' offense was impressive without Evans and Godwin. Mayfield completed 37 of 50 passes and completed three or more passes to seven different players. TE Cade Otton had his second productive appearance after posting a team-high nine catches for 81 yards and a team-high two touchdowns following his 100-yard game against Baltimore.

“I thought they fought, they did some good things,” Bowles said. “They had a lot of possession and made some plays. You don't like the false start, but overall these guys fought hard. 26 points should be enough.”

The Buccaneers’ “three-headed monster” in the backfield continued to perform well. RBs Rachaad White, Bucky Irving and Sean Tucker combined for 166 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown. Irving took the lead with 84 yards from scrimmage and White caught an 18-yard pass in the second quarter that briefly gave the Buccaneers a 14-7 lead. The Buccaneers averaged 4.6 yards per carry and Mayfield wasn't sacked on 50 dropbacks, marking another strong showing from the offensive line.

“We have the talent in this room,” Mayfield said. “We moved the ball today. We moved him up and down the field. So we just have to do the little things right. We have to come together as a team, and obviously in an environment like we're going to be in on Monday night. “Kansas City, we know what we're going to get. We have to do the little things right, play the field position game and see what happens. The season isn't even over yet.

Mayfield praised offensive coordinator Liam Coen for developing a plan to keep the offense going without several key players.

“It's an unreal task to just prepare everyone, of course just with different ways to attack them. The running game worked, I thought the O-line was great. He spoke to everyone. Liam obviously called the plays, but the boys did that. “We went in there and did their job the way they’re supposed to do it. It is again important not to shoot ourselves in the foot in critical situations.

Defensive lineman CJ Brewer recorded the first two sacks of his career and the only two for both teams in Sunday's game. He also had a potentially crucial third-and-1 stop on RB Tyler Allgeier on Atlanta's final drive, but Cousins ​​got the first shot with a sneak on fourth-and-1. The Buccaneers' defense performed much better in the second half, allowing 146 yards and seven scores after giving up 248 yards and 24 points in the first half. However, it wasn't enough to win.

“It starts with coaching,” Bowles said. “It starts with me, it starts with the defensive coaches and it starts with the players. We have to play better and fix the problem. Nobody is coming to save us. We have a lot to do. We do a much better job than we did, and that starts with me.

The lead changed hands twice in the first half, but Atlanta took a 24-17 halftime lead. Both offenses moved the ball well, with Atlanta gaining 248 yards and 13 touchdowns to 238 and 13 for the Buccaneers, but the difference was White's fumble on the second play, which gave Atlanta a short field for an opening touchdown. Each team also kicked a field goal in the final two minutes of the half. Cousins' three touchdowns in the half all went for 36 yards or longer.

The Falcons also got the ball early in the second half and had a chance to build a double-digit lead. However, the Bucs defense got the stop it needed and gave the ball back to the offense, who advanced into Falcons territory and had a chance to tie the ball up. Unfortunately, the Falcons immediately regained the momentum when Jessie Bates intercepted an attempted Fleaflicker trick. The Bucs defense got another quick stop, but this time another trick play backfired as a fake punt snap to DB Tavierre Thomas lost two yards and gave Atlanta the ball into Bucs territory. That led to a quick touchdown drive by the Falcons and a two-touchdown disadvantage that the home team ultimately couldn't overcome.

Bowles had no regrets about the two failed trick plays after the game.

“No, I don’t think those two caused us to lose the game,” he said. “I thought defensively we made some stupid plays in the first half, and in the second half we missed some things and got some penalties offensively. It's hard when you're playing the Bucs and the Falcons at the same time. “It’s not possible to beat two teams.”