No sweep this time: Falcons already behind eight ball in NFC South

The Falcons are already playing catch up.

In Week 8 last season, the Falcons went down to Tampa and narrowly escaped with their second thrilling win over the Buccaneers in October. They were then 5-3 with the tiebreaker over the 4-4 Bucs.

Tampa Bay finished 10-7, the Falcons finished 8-9, and the latter’s early head-to-head advantage ultimately meant nothing.

And this time, the Falcons won’t be blessed with a head start.

They lost to the Bucs 23-20 Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in excruciating fashion. The excitement around training camp and the preseason was instantly quelled. The offense’s valiant effort was for naught when Younghoe Koo missed the would-be-game-tying 44-yard field goal at the end of regulation.

“We have to make those kicks; those are very makeable kicks,” Falcons coach Raheem Morris said, stating the obvious just minutes after the Falcons squandered a gift from the Bucs, who missed an extra point after their go-ahead touchdown, along with a field goal earlier in the game.

This could prove a haunting loss. The Bucs have won the NFC South four consecutive seasons. Some have deemed them a sleeper to appear in the NFC Championship game. For as seismic a win as this could’ve been for the Falcons, it’s an equally brutal loss.

“We remember the fact they beat us twice, but it’s a new season,” Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield said. “We’re 1-0, that’s what the goal was coming in here against a divisional opponent on the road.”

The Falcons missed their goal of protecting home turf. They started 0-1 for the second straight season. They’ve won in Week 1 just once since 2018; they’re also the first team to suffer a head-to-head divisional loss in the NFC South.

The Falcons were 4-2 against their division a year ago, taking the unconventional route of sweeping the division champs while splitting with two afterthoughts.

They went 4-7 against the rest of the NFL, so their divisional success kept them in the playoff conversation. It’s still a weak grouping, particularly with the Saints expected to vie for the No. 1 overall pick and the Panthers looking unimpressive in a 26-point loss to Jacksonville on Sunday. So there will be opportunities.

But for a franchise trying to prove it’s emerging from its lengthy hibernation, Sunday was remarkably disappointing. The Falcons expect to be more in the Bucs’ tier than the Panthers’. They’ve certainly competed well against them head-to-head.

The 0-1 result, though, is all that matters.

It’s oft-repeated because it’s true: The NFL has razor-thin margins. Koo’s missed kick occurred Sept. 7 but could doom the Falcons in January, be that in the divisional race or wild-card competition.

It puts more pressure on the Falcons to win the rematch Dec. 11 in Tampa, though time will tell what the standings look like by the point.

“They’re a very talented group over there; we’ll have to see them again,” Bucs coach Todd Bowles said.

Until then, the Falcons have a lot to prove. The skeptics will be loud this week because the Falcons did what they’ve routinely done — finding a way to lose a winnable game. That’s how a team ends up with a seven-year playoff drought. That’s how a team loses equity with its battered fan base.