The Falcons persevere and beat the Bucs 31-26 to secure first place

It's a two-team race for the division title in the NFC South.

The Falcons now hold a one-game lead in the division and the one-win tiebreaker in the season series after defeating the Buccaneers 31-26 on Sunday. Atlanta is 5-3 while the Bucs are 4-4.

Kirk Cousins ​​threw four touchdowns, including two to Kyle Pitts. He was 23 of 29 for 276 yards and threw touchdowns of 36 and 49 yards to Kyle Pitts, 30 yards to Darnell Mooney and 6 yards to Bijan Robinson.

Mooney caught five passes for 92 yards and Pitts caught four for 91 yards.

The Falcons could have taken an eight-point lead, but Younghoe Koo missed a 46-yard field goal wide of the right net with 1:01 left. This gave the Bucs a chance to win the game. They reached the Atlanta 33 before a Tristan Wirfs false start gave them a 5-yard lead.

Baker Mayfield sailed his Hail Mary beyond the end zone to end the game.

The Bucs outscored the Falcons 432 to 394, with most of that coming after falling behind Atlanta 31-17 in the third quarter.

Mayfield went 37 of 50 for 330 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions without his top wideouts, Chris Godwin and Mike Evans. Cade Otton caught nine passes for 81 yards and two touchdowns.

CJ Brewer had two sacks for the Bucs.