A few years ago, the Atlanta Falcons had stopped Tom Brady and the Buccaneers on third down, setting their offense up for a game-winning drive.
But then the refs stepped in and threw a flag for roughing the passer on Grady Jarrett. To say that was a bad call would be an understatement; it was one of the worst calls in NFL history.
So, as fate would have it, a similar situation popped up in the opening game of the 2025 season, which should have the Dirty Birds furious.
Falcons have bad flashbacks of a weak roughing the passer penalty vs. Bucs
After Michael Penix Jr. made a heroic effort to score a go-ahead touchdown, the Falcons' defense was looking to get a big stop on Baker Mayfield.
They had one key opportunity to force a fourth down, but failed. Then they forced an incompletion, but a flag was thrown on Ruke Orhorhoro after Mayfield flopped to the turf. The Bucs' quarterback made the hit look a whole lot worse than it was -- Ruke hardly touched him.
This penalty resulted in 15 yards, a first down, and put Tampa Bay in field goal range. They then decided to go for it all and hit Emeka Ebuka for a game-winning touchdown. That penalty changed how the road team played things. Instead of trying to make sure they get in field goal range, they were able to go for the biscuit.
To make it even worse, the refs huddled to talk about the flag, yet still decided to go through with it.
Overall, the Falcons were given two of those penalties to the Bucs' one, but both of the Falcons' were legitimate fouls. Penix was blasted in the head and then took a hit well after he threw the ball.
It is the team's responsibility not to let the game come down to a yellow hanky. Ruke never should've touched Baker, but it was still a botched, game-changing call by the refs.
At the very least, the defense would've been in better position to force a field goal, and then overtime. It was another painful reminder of the awful call from a few years ago.