The Bucs got the ball back in the second half and drove into Atlanta territory. They'd have to settle for a field goal try but Gay missed his second of the day on a 44-yard attempt.

Atlanta was forced to punt on their next drive, giving the ball back to the Bucs. After getting to the Falcons' 14-yard line thanks in part to a successful challenge on a no-call of defensive pass interference, Tampa Bay would end up getting hit with an offensive pass interference penalty themselves. It backed them up and forced them into another field goal try. Gay would miss his third to leave the score at 22-16 with 4:21 left in the third quarter.

The Falcons got as far as the Bucs' 19-yard line and were stopped on third-down and two. They elected to go for it on fourth down and were again unsuccessful as defensive lineman Will Gholston batted Ryan's pass down at the line. It forced the turnover on downs and gave the Bucs the ball back.

Tampa Bay got hit with a couple penalties to bring up third-down and 20 at their own 10-yard line. It would end up too much to overcome and they'd be forced to punt.

The Bucs defense would limit the Falcons on their next drive. They'd end up only with a field goal, a 43-yarder that pulled Atlanta to within a field goal with a score of 22-19 with 6:27 left in the game.

Unfortunately, Tampa Bay wouldn't be able to widen their lead on the next drive. The Falcons forced them to punt and got the ball back with time ticking down.

Back to back sacks of Ryan by Barrett increased his total to 19.5 on the season and helped back the Falcons up while on their side of the field. They'd be faced with third-down and 12 but converted it, getting a fresh set of downs in Buccaneer territory. With eight seconds left the Falcons set up another play but it was an incomplete pass as Ryan went for the end zone. They trotted the field goal unit out to tie the game with three seconds on the clock and Younghoe Koo hit the 27-yard kick to send the game into overtime.