The Falcons were reduced to playing spoiler after being eliminated from playoff contention following a home blowout loss to Seattle last week.
They apparently relish the role.
The Falcons put together their most thrilling win of the season Thursday night in Tampa, beating the Buccaneers 29-28 on a 43-yard field goal by Zane Gonzalez on the game's final play. The game featured a 14-point, fourth-quarter comeback, a franchise-record number of penalties, a career night from Kyle Pitts and multiple game-changing plays late.
For a team that folded in the second half against the Seahawks just four days earlier, there was no quit from a team missing its starting quarterback and top wide receiver.
“Couldn't be more proud of the ways those guys stayed resilient and found a way to win tonight,” Falcons coach Raheem Morris said. “That's what we've been talking about all year.”
The win improved Atlanta's record to 2-5 in one-score games this season.
With Drake London out, the Falcons built their offense around Pitts and running back Bijan Robinson, and both players came through. Pitts had career-highs in catches (11), yards (166) and touchdowns (3) as Tampa Bay continued to have trouble matching up with him. It was the first time since Shannon Sharpe in 1996 that a tight end had more than 150 receiving yards and three TDs in a game.
Robinson continued his All-Pro-type season with 93 rushing yards and a touchdown on 19 carries, plus 82 receiving yards on 11 catches. He did have a costly second-half fumble for the second straight week that led to a Bucs touchdown. Robinson has now reached at least 175 yards from scrimmage four times this season. No other player has done it more than twice.
The Falcons secondary struggled with the full complement of Bucs receivers on Thursday night. Mike Evans returned after missing seven weeks with a broken collarbone, and he was immediately quarterback Baker Mayfield's go-to No. 1. He had six catches for 132 yards in his return. The Bucs receivers collectively made 16 catches for 254 yards mostly against corners Dee Alford, AJ Terrell and Cobee Bryant, plus safeties Xavier Watts and Jesse Bates. The cornerbacks combined to commit six penalties. Alford did come up with a crucial interception in the fourth quarter off Mayfield.
Quarterback Kirk Cousins will almost certainly be a free agent this offseason and looking for someplace were he can start. Last night's game will be at the top of his 2025 resume after he finished 30 for 44 for 373 yards with three touchdowns, no interceptions and just one sack. His sack came on the game-winning drive, and he recovered his own fumble in traffic to keep the drive alive.
Cousins continued a remarkable three-year run against the Bucs in which he has averaged 32 completions in 44 attempts for 376 yards in four games against Tampa Bay with 13 touchdowns and two interceptions. He is 3-1 in those games, with the only loss coming as a member of the Vikings in 2023.
With London sidelined, the Falcons could use more production out of wide receiver Darnell Mooney, who is the team's No. 2. Mooney had three catches for 35 yards last night and had a fumble that Falcons center Ryan Neuzil somehow recovered in the fourth quarter at the Tampa Bay 10-yard-line. Mooney has averaged only 2.1 catches per game this season and his production has not increased significantly in London's absence.
London missed his fourth straight game with a knee injury. ... Cornerback Mike Hughes (ankle) left the game in the first quarter and did not return. He was replaced by Bryant, an undrafted free agent out of Kansas who has now seen action in four games.
19: The Falcons set a franchise record for penalties, and they were spread out with 10 in the first half and nine in the second. It was the most in the NFL since 2016. The 19 penalties cost the Falcons 125 yards. The Bucs were whistled for four penalties and 25 yards. Entering the game, the Falcons were averaging 5.6 penalties (sixth fewest in the NFL) and 45.4 penalty yards (seventh) per game.
The Falcons will wrap up the road portion of their schedule Dec. 21 when they travel to Arizona to face the Cardinals. Both teams have been eliminated from playoff contention.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins (18) passes in the pocket against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the first half of an NFL football game, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson (7) runs against Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Jacob Parrish (25) during the first half of an NFL football game, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)
Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts Sr. (8) celebrates his touchdown against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the first half of an NFL football game, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)
NEW YORK (AP) — More drops for superstars that had earlier soared in Wall Street's frenzy around artificial-intelligence technology are dragging the U.S. stock market off their records on Friday.
The S&P 500 fell 1.2% from its all-time high set the day before, and the weakness for tech stocks yanked the Nasdaq composite down a market-leading 1.8%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 266 points, or 0.5%, from its own record set the day before, as of 11:30 a.m. Eastern time.
Broadcom dragged the market lower and tumbled 10.5% even though the chip company reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Analysts called the performance solid, and CEO Hock Tan said strong 74% growth in AI semiconductor revenue helped lead the way.
But investors may have been concerned with some of Broadcom’s financial forecasts, including how much profit it can squeeze out of each $1 of revenue. The AI heavyweight may also have simply run out of momentum after its stock came into the day with a surge of 75.3% for the year so far, more than quadruple the S&P 500’s gain.
Broadcom’s stumble came a day after Oracle plunged nearly 11% despite likewise reporting a bigger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected.
Doubts remain about whether all the spending that Oracle is doing on AI technology will end up being worth it, along with how it will pay for it. Such questions are dogging the AI industry broadly, even as many billions of dollars continue to flow in.
Broadcom was the heaviest weight on the S&P 500 Friday, followed by Nvidia. The chip company that's become the poster child of the AI boom fell 2.5%.
The stock market was also broadly feeling pressure from the bond market, where the yield on the 10-year Treasury climbed to 4.19% from 4.14% late Thursday. The gains were biggest for yields of the longest-term Treasurys, which tend to track long-term expectations for economic growth and inflation.
The drops for AI superstars mark a return toward Earth after they earlier had been the main engine propelling Wall Street higher. Other stocks that used to struggle with uncertainty about the U.S. economy’s strength and what the Federal Reserve will do with interest rates, meanwhile, have been doing better.
The stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which has much less of an emphasis on tech, are still up 1% for the week so far. That's much better than the Nasdaq composite's drop of 1.7%.
Even with Friday's rise in yields, investors are feeling more optimistic about interest rates. The Fed earlier this week cut its main interest rate for the third time this year and indicated another cut may be ahead in 2026. Wall Street loves lower rates because they can boost the economy and send prices for investments higher, even if they potentially make inflation worse.
The Fed’s chair, Jerome Powell, did hint on Wednesday that interest rates may be on hold for a while. But he helped soothe nerves when his comments appeared less harsh than some investors expected in shutting off the possibility of more cuts in 2026.
Stocks of travel-related companies were relatively strong on Friday, as nearly as many stocks rose in the S&P 500 as fell. Oil prices have eased this week, which should help trim their bills, and hopes are rising that easier interest rates will support the economy and encourage more people to take trips.
Southwest Airlines climbed 2.5%, while Norwegian Cruise Line steamed 1.4% higher. .
The biggest gain in the S&P 500 came from Lululemon Athletica, which jumped 11.1% after reporting better profit and revenue for the three months through Nov. 2 than analysts expected. It also said its CEO, Calvin McDonald, plans to step down at the end of January following pressure to boost revenue.
In stock markets abroad, indexes fell in Europe following a stronger finish in Asia.
Stocks jumped 1.7% in Hong Kong and rose 1.4% in Tokyo for two of the world’s bigger gains.
AP Writers Teresa Cerojano and Matt Ott contributed.
Trader William Lawrence works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Trader Jonathan Mueller works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Dec. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Dec. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
A board above the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange displays the closing number for the Dow Jones industrial average, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Currency traders watch monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Dec. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
