Who knew a 19-penalty game would end in an Atlanta Falcons win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Thursday Night Football game saw the Dirty Birds erase a two-touchdown deficit in the fourth quarter and overcome a dumb two-point conversion decision to beat a sliding Bucs team.
It also left the Carolina Panthers ecstatic as the Falcons have tried their hardest to hand them the NFC South crown.
What it has also done is save these three jobs for what will be an interesting 2026 season.
The Falcons' win will keep these three around for another year
1. Raheem Morris
Raheem Morris' team was about as undisciplined as you can get against the Buccaneers, yet they found a way to win. Which side of that will Arthur Blank see?
Blank has generally erred on the side of caution with his coaches. Dan Quinn stuck around longer than he probably should've, and while Arthur Smith was fired after just three seasons, you could argue it should've happened sooner.
There is also the fact that Blank has a great relationship with his current head coach. That makes firing him that much harder.
Unfortunately, this win could've saved Morris his job.
2. Kyle Pitts
This season had been another frustrating one for Kyle Pitts. We had seen a lot of good and a lot of bad.
Thursday's game was what everyone was expecting to see when he was the No. 4 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. The big tight end was overwhelming the Bucs defense with speed, explosiveness, and strong hands.
Perhaps the most impressive part of his 166-yard, three-touchdown performance was him catching 11 out of the 12 passes headed his direction—it was exactly what his team needed to see from him before he's supposed to hit free agency.
3. Mike Hughes and Dee Alford
Mike Hughes left Thursday's game early with an injury, and from there, the No. 2 cornerback position was a nightmare. Cobee Bryant struggled as Hughes' replacement as Baker Mayfield was throwing his direction on nearly every play.
Seeing how fast the secondary fell off without Hughes proved to the coaching staff just how important the veteran is to the defense.
Along with that, Dee Alford continues to make plays for his team. While he struggled for much of the game, he made up for it by dropping under Bryant's coverage to snag a critical interception in the game. Without that play, the Falcons likely would've lost.
The soon-to-be free agent has given the Dirty Birds every reason to re-sign him after the season's end.