Tampa Bay Buccaneers come within inches of pulling off miraculous comeback in final seconds

AP Photo/John Bazemore

Jameis Winston scrambled for the end zone before pitching the ball backwards with hopes a teammate would be able to complete the score.

• The Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers played in a crucial NFC South matchup on Sunday.
• Down 34-29 with just seconds remaining, the Buccaneers attempted a multi-lateral play to find the winning score.
• It almost worked, with the final lateral just inches away from finding DeSean Jackson in space for a touchdown.

 
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers traveled to Atlanta on Sunday to face off against the Falcons in a crucial NFC South divisional matchup.

The Falcons were essentially playing for their season after a dismal start to the year, while the Buccaneers were hoping to keep pace with the top of the division.

After a back-and-forth game, the Buccaneers found themselves just outside the red zone, down 34-29 with just seven seconds remaining.

Needing a score to win, Tampa Bay went with an empty backfield with quarterback Jameis Winston taking the snap out of the shotgun. But rather than throwing for the end zone, Winston took off scrambling, making it to about the 10-yard line before being met by Falcons defenders.

To keep the play alive, Winston pitched the ball backward, starting the chaotic series of desperation laterals that are familiar to last-ditch efforts to score.

It came shockingly close to working.

You can see DeSean Jackson's frustration at the end of the play - had he handled that final bounce cleanly, he would have been free into the end zone with the game-winning score.

Instead, the Buccaneers lost their third straight game and remain in third place in the NFC South.