Jessie Bates’ forced touchback is one of NFL’s best defensive plays this year in Falcons-Bucs

Jessie Bates is widely considered one of the best safeties in the NFL. The Atlanta Falcons star is particularly good at forcing takeaways, and he just proved it again during one of the wildest plays of the season so far in his team’s Week 8 matchup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Bucs QB Baker Mayfield fumbled the snap, picked up the ball, started to scramble, then lateraled it to running back Bucky Irving in what looked like a college football option play. Irving was making his way to an open end zone when Bates came in with his signature Peanut Punch to knock the ball free inside of the one-yard-line and out of the end zone for a touchdown. Talk about a game-breaking play. Watch Bates’ forced fumble here: WILD PLAY IN TAMPA.Falcons ball ‼️ATLvsTB on FOX/FOX OneStream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/UAdViWPcho— NFL (@NFL) November 1, 2026 That should have been six points for the Bucs. Instead, Bates made a heroic play to jar the ball loose, and it bounced perfectly in Atlanta’s favor to result in a touchback. Every team in the NFC South entered the week under .500. It’s been a rough start to the season for both Tampa and Atlanta, but there’s always an opportunity in the worst division in football, and it’s creating games that are way more intense than they have any right to be. Bates is a stud. The Falcons are lucky to have him.