Friday, 4 a.m.
Put a fork in them. Call off the dogs. Turn out the lights.
For the Tampa Bay Bucs, it is all but over.
The Bucs' endless slide continued on Thursday night. The Bucs blew a two-touchdown lead, allowed the Atlanta Falcons to overcome a third-and-28 on its winning drive and didn't take advantage of 19-penalty night. In the end, they lost to the Falcons 29-28.
It seemed to be over several times. On Kyle Pitts' third touchdown reception of the night, he seemed to land on his elbow out of bounds, but replay officials ruled it a catch. There was a fumble the Bucs' seemed to recover thst was called mutual position.
The Bucs celebrated the return of Mike Evans, who had six catches for 132 yards. But quarterback Baker Mayfield had another spotty night, throwing a pick and taking five sacks.
Tampa Bay could not stop the Falcons' headliners. Kyle Pitts cauht 22 passes for 166 yrds. Bijan Robinson ran for 93 yards. And backup Atlanta quarterback Kirk Cousins threw for 373 yards.
The Bucs have now lost five out of six games and now trail Carolina in the NFC South standings.