'TNF' takeaways: Buccaneers blow late lead to Falcons as collapse continues

The NFL Week 15 schedule kicked off on Thursday night with the Atlanta Falcons stunning the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 29-28, with a late fourth-quarter comeback that could dramatically change the NFC South race. Here are some key takeaways from the Falcons win.

Buccaneers' late-season collapse continues

At one point this season, the Buccaneers were 6-2 and looked to be in complete and total control of one of the NFL's weakest divisions. With Thursday's loss, they are now 7-7 and have lost five of their past six games, putting them into a fight with the Carolina Panthers for the division.

While injuries have played a big role in Tampa Bay's recent struggles, there can be no excuse for this loss.

This is bad.

Not only did have their key players on offense back — including wide receiver Mike Evans, who was fantastic in his return to the lineup — they were playing a Falcons team that was already mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. It was a Falcons team that was also playing Kirk Cousins, who is clearly a fraction of what he was at his peak, at quarterback and a team that committed 19 penalties.

Even worse than all of that, the Buccaneers had a 14-point lead early in the fourth quarter, and even stopped Atlanta on two two-point conversion attempts after its touchdowns. 

Not even that was enough for the Buccaneers. 

A Baker Mayfield interception, and then a failed attempt to run out the clock on their last offensive possession, gave Atlanta the opportunities it needed. 

It took advantage and even converted a 4th-and-14 with the game on the line and under a minute to play.

Tampa Bay had every opportunity to win this game and put it away. It failed in all of them. 

Kyle Pitts played like the Kyle Pitts Atlanta always wanted to see

When the Falcons drafted Pitts with a top-10 pick, there was the expectation he would be a matchup nightmare in the middle of the field and help transform their offense.

His career to this point has been filled with inconsistency and frustration. 

On Thursday, he gave the Falcons a taste of what they always wanted to see, catching 11 passes for 166 yards and three touchdowns, including a huge touchdown late in the fourth quarter.