Despite being eliminated from playoff contention, the Atlanta Falcons wanted to play spoiler to the Buccaneers' playoff hopes. In the upset victory on primetime, the Falcons trailed 28-14 early in the fourth quarter, but they clawed back and a walk-off field goal from Zane Gonzalez saw them prevail.
However, the 29-28 victory saw the Dirty Birds be called for a franchise record 19 penalties, which marked the most of any team this season and the most by any NFL team since the Browns back in 2019. And despite the win, it took a sloppy, highly undisciplined road to get there.
The offense shined, and it was Zac Robinson's best play-calling of the season, but if it weren't for the penalties, this is a game the Falcons likely win by a much larger margin. But then again, it's hard to find reasons to complain in the face of one of Atlanta's best offensive performances of the season.
Even after an impressive Falcons' win, Raheem Morris still needs to go
The 49-year-old coach entered Week 15 on the hot seat, and didn't do a ton to help his case despite the outcome. But the fact it was Atlanta's biggest come-from-behind win since 2018 suggests that he may have extended his leash at least a little bit because of the resiliency the Falcons displayed.
Kirk Cousins led a masterful game-winning drive and Kyle Pitts enjoyed by far the best game of his career, and the pair and Bijan Robinson finally ignited the Atlanta offense the way fans expected. And since this came without Drake London, spoiling the Rams' draft position makes things even sweeter.
However, that doesn't change the fact that Morris made this win far more difficult than it needed to be. After the Falcons scored a touchdown to make it 28-20, the logical decision would have been to attempt the extra point rather than make the analytics play to go for two, but not in his mind.
So Morris, in his infinite wisdom, chose to go for two, but Atlanta failed to convert on either of their two-point attempts, which means they wouldn't have been stressing for Gonzalez to come through the way he did. But his team still found a way, so it's hard to fault him despite the mismanagement.
Even in the face of victory, it was the perfect storm of evidence that proves that Morris still needs to go. The penalties, the stalled drives, the miscues, the two-point tries,, and even a much-needed victory might not be enough to save him from facing the music at the end of the season.