ATLANTA — The Atlanta Falcons fell just short Sunday - literally by three yards, in fact - in a heartbreaking thriller with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The visiting Bucs topped the Falcons 29-25 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in a game that see-sawed in the final minutes.
Desmond Ridder drove Atlanta down the field for a touchdown to Drake London with about three-and-a-half minutes to go, putting the Falcons up 25-22 after a successful two-point conversion.
But Tampa quarterback Baker Mayfield matched Ridder with a touchdown drive of his own, leaving Atlanta just 31 seconds on the clock.
Starting at his own 20 after the kick, Ridder completed three passes to set up a final shot at the end zone with four seconds to go from the Tampa 31. He found a leaping Drake London - who had 10 catches for 172 yards in the contest - but not in the end zone. Tampa took the receiver down at the 3-yard line and time expired.
Ridder had one of his bigger games of the season with 347 yards on 26-of-40 passing, with one touchdown and one interception as well as a rushing touchdown.
Bijan Robinson had five receptions for 54 yards and carried the ball 10 times for 34 yards and a touchdown, while Kyle Pitts also had three catches for 57 yards and a touchdown.
The loss set the Falcons back to 6-7, now second in the NFC South to the Buccaneers who improved to 6-7 and took hold of the tiebreaker between the two teams.
News happens fast. Download our 11Alive News app for all the latest breaking updates, and sign up for our Speed Feed newsletter to get a rundown of the latest headlines across north Georgia.
