In the 80’s fantasy comedy “The Greatest American Hero,” the main character Ralph Hinkley takes on the role of a crusading crime fighting super hero. Despite his inability to fly correctly, his inexperience at being a superhero, and his reluctance to take on that role he was chosen to take, he succeeds in taking on the bad guys in most episodes.
Well, believe it or not, the Falcons, who like Ralph had special gifts (super suit provided in Ralph’s case, talented players in the Falcons case) to help get the job done but were undermined by tripping on their own feet, walked out of Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay with a long overdue victory over the formerly NFC South leading Buccaneers on Thursday Night Football.
The 29-28 win came thanks to a last-second field goal by Zane Gonzalez, a play that happened because the Falcons lived up to coach Raheem Morris’ “find a way” edict and didn’t give up despite consistently undermining themselves with miscues and a never-ending run of costly penalties.
“These guys, they are fighters,” said Morris, after the game, adding that he was “proud” of his players’ performance during the game.
The hero in this game is Kyle Pitts Sr, who has had success against the Bucs in the past, but really came alive last night, putting up 166 receving yards on 11 receptions. He scored 3 touchdowns against the Falcons further down south competitors.
3 touchdowns
11 receptions
166 yards@kylepitts__ x #ProBowlVote pic.twitter.com/PB7hrkOu4q— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) December 12, 2025
Kirk Cousins pulled off arguably his most successful game since putting on a Falcons jersey. His 373 passing yards for 3 touchdowns were huge, especially when you put those numbers against the Bucs Baker Mayfield’s 277 yards. Cousins didn’t throw an interception last night. Baker did.
“Always good to win,” Cousins said after the game. Both he and Pitts are Ballers of this Game.
Bijan Robinson rushed 93 yards on 19 carries and scored a touchdown. Falcons’ defense pulled off 5 sacks last night, and the team’s underperforming special teams unit didn’t commit any costly errors last night.
This win comes especially sweet for the Dirty Birds, not just because they are starved for one after a series of heartbreaking, embarrassing, and downright inexplicable losses this season, but because they made mistakes frequently in this game that contributed to those prior losses.
The Falcons last night shattered a franchise record for accepted penalties: 19 penalties that cost them 125 yards. The old record was 17, set in 1978 against the 49ers. That penalty party also cost them 125 yards. They ironically also won that game. (It should be pointed out that not all of those penalties were due to the Falcons mistakes, as some referees seemed too eager to toss those yellow markers against the Falcons last night. The Bucs were only sanctioned four times last night.)
https://t.co/m4QJQqb0C2 pic.twitter.com/3Grg5D7QnR
— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) December 12, 2025
The Dirty Birds hurt themselves in more ways as well: Going for two-point conversions twice after a TD when a point after attempt would do (they failed both times), fumbling the ball and giving Tampa gift points, and again, not consistently converting on third down. The Falcons were 5 of 11 on these conversions.
This win, satisfying as it is, does nothing to change the reality of this team’s state. They have a losing record (5-9), and their playoff quest is over. There will continue to be questions and frustrations stacking up that the Falcons will have to deal with in the offseason.
But for one night, they got a win. And potentially spoiled a division rival’s playoff chances in the process. Tampa is now 7-7, with Carolina the new playoff contender in the NFC South at 7-6.
Cousins can live with that.
“Football tests you,” he said, after the game. “Nights like tonight, you get a boost.”
