The Tampa Bay Buccaneers fell 3-2 in Week 5 after an overtime thriller loss to the Atlanta Falcons, who rode a 509-yard performance from Kirk Cousins all the way to his game-winning drive. With the win, the Falcons go up 3-2, proving their instincts correct when they signed Cousins away from the Minnesota Vikings in the offseason. The quarterback went 42-58 with 509 yards and four touchdowns plus one interception.

Meanwhile, Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield couldn't quite continue his hot three-touchdown showing in the first half, finishing 19-24 for 180 yards, and three touchdowns.

Moreover, Cousins' explosion represented another historic low for the Buccaneers. They have become “the only team in NFL history to allow an opposing QB to throw for 500+ passing yards on 4 separate occasions,” per a post from Sportsnet Stats on X, formerly Twitter.

Buccaneers meltdown on a career night

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins (18) throws a pass against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in overtime at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
© Brett Davis-Imagn Images

For Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles, too many missed tackles were the story of their Week 5 loss to the Falcons, even beyond Kirk Cousins' historic night.

For instance, one of these missed tackles was from cornerback Zyon McCollum, who whiffed on KhaDarel Hodge's touchdown drive off Cousins' 45-yard pass in overtime that gave the Falcons a walk-off victory.

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“The guy took off to make the play. He just missed the ball and he missed the tackle… Guys were where they were supposed to be,” Bowles said about the play, via a report from Associated Press shared on Fox Sports.

Meanwhile, Baker Mayfield didn't blame any particular mishap or miscue for the loss.

“It looked like it was over a couple times. You know, the back and forth in there and stuff out there. Yeah, that was a crazy scenario there,” the quarterback said.

For his part, Bucs safety Christian Izen believes the team can move on from the loss, despite the many blown opportunities to take the game.

“We have to understand we're very early in the season… We can't let one loss ruin the season,” he said.

The safety might have a point, since a 3-2 record isn't all that bad. From his first half, at least, Baker Mayfield's Mike Tyson pregame routine seemed to have worked.