Raheem Morris praises unlikely hero after Falcons' shocking win over Buccaneers

Arguably the biggest moment of the Week 15 "Thursday Night Football" game between the Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers involved Falcons center Ryan Neuzil remarkably recovering a fumble when Atlanta was facing a 28-20 deficit with roughly five minutes to play in the fourth quarter. 

Shortly after the Falcons improved to 5-9 on the season via an upset 29-28 win over the Buccaneers, Atlanta head coach Raheem Morris reflected on Neuzil's heroics.

Raheem Morris challenged Falcons to play for each other before Buccaneers game

“Effort. Effort," Morris said about the fumble recovery, per Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. "We talk about covering for our offensive line. You run down the field and do the things that’s required. To watch him do those things, finish and get the ball back for his football team. We talked before the game about playing for each other, and that is the absolute definition of playing for each other when you run down the field, and you recover a fumble like that and you get the ball back and continue to give us a chance."

The Atlanta offense finished that drive with a touchdown, and it later picked up a first down when it faced a 3rd-and-28 and a 4th-and-14. In the end, Zane Gonzalez booted a game-winning 43-yard field goal as time expired. 

Kirk Cousins was stunned by the fumble recovery

During his postgame comments, Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins admitted that he began jogging off the field after the fumble because he assumed Tampa Bay had recovered it.

"Our offensive line coach [Dwayne Ledford] preaches covering," Cousins explained. "So when the ball is thrown, and the rush stops, you are to run forward. You don’t know where or why but you are to run forward. They coach it. They do it so much that when we’re in walkthrough, just walking through plays, after every play, they walk forward to train the muscle memory. Neuzil covered tonight. If you watch the tape, they do it a lot, more than most guys I’ve played with. When you cover like that, it saved the game."

Whether or not that win will help save Morris' job shall be seen, as the Falcons are already eliminated from playoff contention. Atlanta next plays at the Arizona Cardinals (3-10) on Dec. 21.