Drake London Stars, But Atlanta Falcons Offense Buried by Mistakes vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Atlanta Falcons saw receiver Drake London's best professional performance Sunday, but still fell short to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers amidst a plethora of mistakes offensively.

Drake London remained planted in the spot of his angst, just three yards shy of the endzone inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

The 22-year-old receiver had been in the same spot since being brought down on the final play of the Atlanta Falcons' 29-25 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday afternoon.

London didn't move until quarterback Desmond Ridder came to his side. In this moment, the second-year duo that’s grown so close now symbolized Atlanta’s crushing defeat.

Both Ridder and London had the most productive games of their young careers Sunday and were key reasons why Atlanta nearly overcame a 19-10 fourth quarter deficit.

Ridder finished the afternoon 26 of 40 for a career-high 347 yards with one touchdown and an interception. He added four rushes for 15 yards and another score on the ground.

London saw 11 targets. He caught 10 of them en route to a 172-yard outing. Both were career-highs. His previous high in receiving yards was 125, coming earlier this season against the Washington Commanders.

Falcons coach Arthur Smith said after the game he kept calling London's number within his play selection. Ridder called London's 45-yard highlight-reel grab on the penultimate drive a "heat check."

The result was, as Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles noted, "a heck of a play" - one of many explosive plays made by London in his biggest statistical game to date.

"Drake played his butt off," Ridder said. "Drake is a heck of a competitor, heck of a player. He wanted that last one more than anyone and all we're going to do is keep going back to work and getting better."

Atlanta's final pass from scrimmage, which resulted in London's temporary home three yards shy of glory, was supposed to go to the endzone, with Smith comparing it to Alabama's touchdown on 4th and 31 against Auburn two weeks ago.

The Buccaneers' secondary sank, and London ran underneath. He simply came up short.

But Atlanta didn't lose the game because of that play.

Ridder threw the football at a high level and led three strong days to end the game, but his two turnovers directly led to points for Tampa Bay.

Buccaneers cornerback Carlton Davis intercepted Ridder on a swing pass to running back Bijan Robinson, undercutting the route and giving Tampa Bay's offense the ball inside Atlanta's 10-yard line.

Just two plays later, the Buccaneers were in the endzone, capitalizing on the field position gained by Ridder's turnover, which Smith attributed to a disguised coverage look.

"It’s a run alert on a bubble," Smith said. "A little tick late, they change the coverage, rolled into a two, to a cloud corner, so a lot of things we could have done better there."

The Falcons responded well, driving 75 yards on just six plays, as Ridder found tight end Kyle Pitts for a 36-yard touchdown on the right sideline to draw even.

But over the following seven possessions, Atlanta's offense went into a state of disarray and, ultimately, unproductivity that fostered the need for a valid but unsuccessful late charge.

The first arose after the Falcons' defense secured a fourth-down stop just shy of midfield. Ridder quickly hit receiver KhaDarel Hodge for an 18-yard gain, and Atlanta appeared poised to keep the momentum rolling.

Instead, the Falcons gained just four yards on the next three plays, forcing a 50-yard field goal try from kicker Younghoe Koo. His attempt hit the right post for just his second miss this year.

On the first play of the ensuing series, Ridder was sacked by Buccaneers safety Antoine Winfield Jr., with the ball being dislodged from his hands.

Falcons fullback Keith Smith recovered the fumble but was downed in the endzone for a safety, giving Tampa Bay two more points.

Atlanta tried to be aggressive, Arthur Smith said, which breaks some of its season-long tendencies ... but it came back to bite Ridder, who feels he could've done more on a play Smith noted came down to the difference of a half-second.

"We were backed up - I’ve just got to get the ball out of my hands and not sit back there and pat it," Ridder said. "Just throw it away if it's not there."

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Desmond Ridder fumbles amidst a hit from Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Antoine Winfield Jr. on Dec. 10, 2023 / Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Once again, the Falcons responded to their turnover well, driving into Koo's field goal range to close the half - but like the time before, Koo's kick sailed wide left, this time from 52 yards away.

Atlanta came out of the locker room poised to get the ball, with hopes of erasing a 12-10 halftime deficit. Instead, it punted on its first four possessions, two of which ended in three-and-out's.

This seven-series drought caused the need for a strong finish, which came when the Falcons trailed 19-10 with 14 minutes to play in the fourth quarter.

Over its final three drives, Atlanta's offense ran 18 plays and picked up 203 yards. It just needed three more.

For Ridder, who Smith said made "big plays (and) big throws" late, the change in success came from more consistency in the operation, which is a trend that's come up time and again this season.

Koo accepted blame for the loss afterwards, but Ridder instantly shut that down, instead hoisting the offense's execution atop the pylon.

"It's not Koo's fault," Ridder said. "As an offense, we’ve got to do better, get him in better field positions so he's not kicking 50-plus yarders every single time he’s got to go kick the ball. We’ve got to be able to go down there and push the ball and move it forward and give him easier ones if we are going to stall out."

The Falcons entered Sunday in sole possession of first place in the NFC South, firmly controlling their own destiny.

They received a playoff-worthy performance from London, and the offense's collective last gasp inspired confidence there's more to come.

But now, Atlanta sits in a three-way tie for the division lead alongside Tampa Bay and New Orleans, with the Buccaneers now owning the tiebreaker.

Falcons Fall to Bucs as Late Comeback Falls Short

In a division so closely contested, it's possible the Falcons will look back on Sunday's loss with particular regret, falling three yards short.

But really, Atlanta has nobody to blame but itself - for much more than just the last play.

"We had opportunities," Smith said. "That's the NFL ... Unfortunately, they made one more play than we did. There was plenty of opportunity."