Falcons hold on, beat Bucs 31-26 for sole possession of first place

Kirk Cousins threw four touchdown passes as Atlanta swept the season series between the NFC South rivals.

Falcons hold on, beat Bucs 31-26 for sole possession of first place

It's a two-team race for the division title in the NFC South.

The Falcons now have a one-game lead in the division and the tiebreaker with a sweep of the season series after beating the Buccaneers 31-26 on Sunday. Atlanta is 5-3, while the Bucs are 4-4.

Kirk Cousins threw four touchdowns, including two to Kyle Pitts. He was 23-of-29 for 276 yards, throwing touchdowns of 36 and 49 yards to Kyle Pitts, 30 yards to Darnell Mooney and 6 yards to Bijan Robinson.

Mooney caught five passes for 92 yards and Pitts four for 91.

The Falcons could have gone up by eight, but Younghoe Koo missed a 46-yard field goal wide right with 1:01 left. That allowed the Bucs to get a shot to win the game. They reached the Atlanta 33 before a false start on Tristan Wirfs backed them up 5 yards.

Baker Mayfield sailed his Hail Mary beyond the end zone to end the game.

The Bucs outgained the Falcons 432 to 394, with much of it coming after they fell behind Atlanta 31-17 in the third quarter.

Mayfield went 37-of-50 for 330 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions without his top wideouts, Chris Godwin and Mike Evans. Cade Otton caught nine passes for 81 yards and two touchdowns.

C.J. Brewer had two sacks for the Bucs.