Not sure anyone has ever seen a game quite like that. The Atlanta Falcons found a way to upset their NFC South rival in a game they had no business being in. They committed mistake after mistake, yet came out on top in the end.
Early in the fourth quarter, this article was about to be a giant roasting session. The team was blowing up, but a miracle helped flip that around.
Here are the winners and losers from the Dirty Birds win over the Buccaneers.
Falcons winners and losers in Week 15 upset over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Winner: Zac Robinson (and Kirk Cousins)
There is an argument for Zac Robinson being a winner and a loser this week. But, personally, I am on the good side, despite being his biggest critic.
He called a more creative game than I have seen all year. He continued to feed Bijan Robinson and Kyle Pitts no matter the situation. He was also constantly let down by his players with penalties and drops. Nevertheless, he led his offense to 29 points, the second most this season.
Kirk Cousins also played another good game against the Bucs, going 30-for-44 for 373 yards and three touchdowns. In his last three games against the Bucs, he has gone 95-for-131 (72%) for 1,158 yards, 11 touchdowns, and three interceptions, and is undefeated.
Loser: Raheem Morris
While the final result was good, Raheem Morris' team, once again, shot themselves in the foot time after time.
They committed 19 penalties, approaching an NFL record. They made the same mistakes in the fourth quarter that they had made all year. And going for two down by eight with this offense was a terrible decision.
If Arthur Blank left that game thinking this is a well-coached team then I don't know what to say.
Winner: Kyle Pitts
Kyle Pitts became the first tight end to finish with more than 150 yards and three touchdowns since Shannon Sharpe in 1996. Wow.
The fifth-year tight end finished with 11 catches for 166 yards and three touchdowns. He made himself a lot of money on Thursday night, not much else you can say.
Loser: A.J. Terrell
A.J. Terrell has been baptized these past two weeks. After an incredible stretch going back to last year, the veteran corner has struggled in two straight games.
Whether it was Mike Evans or Chris Godwin, Terrell couldn't find any success. He also committed numerous penalties, even if they were weak calls.
Winner: The rookies
Xavier Watts led the team with nine tackles, James Pearce Jr. led with two more sacks as he continues his outstanding stretch of football, and Jalon Walker had a half sack with even more pressures.
For all of the hate this team has gotten this season, there is no denying that this rookie draft class is turning into something special.
Loser: Officiating
And I thought last week was bad...
The refs were sketchy in this game. They targeted the Falcons at a rate most of us have never seen. They called 19 penalties for 125 yards on the Falcons compared to the Bucs' 4 for 225
Yes, Atlanta had way more legit penalties than we are used to, but you could make the argument that at least half of the called penalties were not penalties. Meanwhile, Tampa Bay's offensive line was routinely holding, and the refs conveniently didn't see it.
Not to mention, that Mike Evans first-down "catch" that clearly hit the ground. It was maddening.
Luckily, they didn't decide to call offensive pass interference on Pitts' third touchdown.
Winner: Special teams
Maybe the biggest surprise of the night is the special teams not ruining this team. They covered kicks and made kicks—that is all we can ask for.
If Tampa Bay fans weren't questioning their team's coaching before, they should be now as they kicked the ball into the endzone on every kickoff against the Falcons' 32nd ranked return unit.
The only mistake was Zane Gonzalez's terrible kickoff that landed short of the landing zone. Nevertheless, his game-winning kick made up for it.