Tampa Bay Buccaneers Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost a heartbreaker to the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night.

The Bucs lost in overtime to their division rivals, putting the teams in a first-place tie in the division at 3-2. Falcons Kirk Cousins absolutely decimated the Bucs defense, going 42-for-58 for a whopping 509 yards and four touchdowns.

Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles spoke on the loss after the game.

“We just have to close out games,” he said, via the Buccaneers’ official team website. “We had opportunities on both sides of the ball. We didn’t finish. We did some good things; we did a lot of bad things to lose the ballgame. So we’ll get some rest and we’ll get some guys healthy and we’ll get ready for next week. We’ve got a good football team; we didn’t finish the game.

“We were not where we were supposed to be. We missed a lot of plays. We can’t play the Bucs and the Falcons.”

Tampa Bay’s quarterback, Baker Mayfield had a solid outing. Mayfield went 19-for-24 for 180 yards and three touchdowns, but he wasn’t satisfied with just posting impressive stats.

“All I care about is wins,” he said. “We’ve got to find a way to finish that game out on offense. We have to make the plays when they’re there. In the second half, we’ve got to take care of the football and we’ve got to finish on offense.”

The good news for the Bucs is they’ll get a chance to avenge the loss when they face the Falcons again in their home stadium on October 27.

[Buccaneers]

About Qwame Skinner

Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. At Next Impulse, Qwame covers sports with the same enthusiasm he brings to his recreational basketball and softball leagues.