ATLANTA, GA – Atlanta welcomed division rival Tampa Bay into the Benz on Sunday afternoon, riding hot on a 2 game win streak. A 6 sack performance from the Tampa D to go with an electrifying 184 yard, 2TD receiving day from Chris Godwin helped the Bucs secure a 35-22 win over the Falcons Sunday at Mercedes Benz Stadium.
Upon winning the toss and electing to receive first, the Falcons immediately got to work. Matt Ryan connected with Jaeden Graham on a 53 yard pass on the first play from scrimmage. Then an end around by Calvin Ridley setup Atlanta 1st and goal.
However, the spark soon fizzled out as they had to settle for a 25 yard field goal from new sensation, Younghoe Koo.
Jameis Winston led the Bucs though and up an down first quarter. Their first drive ended as Winston first pass of the game was picked off. Atlanta wouldn’t capitalize on the turnover though.
Winston then made up for it on the 2nd drive as he connected with Chris Godwin for a 71 yard strike to put the Bucs on top 7-3. However, on the next drive, Winston was picked off for a second time.
The Falcons didn’t let a second opportunity slip as they got their first TD of the day on a 1 yard run from Qadree Ollison. This capped off a 6-play 19 yard drive, which made it 10-7 Falcons.
In the second quarter, things slowed down a bit. The Bucs would be the first to score as Winston once again found Godwin. This time though, it was a 1 TD yard pass, capping a 6 play 51 yard drive. Matt Gay misses the extra point though, as Tampa led 13-10 with 8:01 left in the half.
Atlanta’s offensive struggle continued as Ryan was rushed multiple times and ended o getting sacked 3 times by the end of the 1st half.
Winston and the Bucs were able to extend their lead as the half came to a close, connecting with Vita Vea for a rare score. Matt Gays struggles kicking continued however, as he missed a second extra point.
At the half, the Bucs 19-10 lead was seemingly larger than it looked, with momentum on their side.
Tampa rode that momentum into the start of the second half. Winston led his Bucs on a 9 play 75 yard drive to get into the end zone and extend their lead. Ronald Jones got in on the action with the 4 yard TD run to cap the drive, which was highlighted by his 25 yard drive to get the running game going for the first time of the day for either side.
Downs side though for Tampa, their kicker Matt Gay, continued his streak of bad luck. This time Gays point after attempt was blocked. The kept the game at 25-10.
Atlanta was unable to get things rolling to start the 2nd half on their first offensive possession. Matt Ryan was picked off by Carlton Davis as he looked deep to Ridley. This set Tampa up at their own 11 yard line.
However, the Falcons defense would answer to force just the 2nd 3 and out of the day for the Bucs offense. This would lead to an Atlanta scoring drive, however, certainly not the score they wanted.
After getting into the red zone, two penalties would severely hurt the Falcons. A 1st and 10 at the 18 turned into a 2nd and 28 at the 36 yard line. They were able to salvage the drove though, with a 40 yard field goal from Koo, making it 25-13 as Atlanta continued to trail.
Matt Gay would get redemption for his missed extra points, as he knocked home a 32 yard field goal. This pushed the Tampa lead back to 15. Then, almost as if time itself had pressed rewind, the Falcons got back into the red zone. Yet again, they would have to settle for Koo field goal. This one came from 38 yards as the Bucs lead shrank to 28-16 with 8:16 left to play.
Bad turned to worse as the clock winded down in the 4th quarter. On a 4th and 5 from their own 15 yard line, Ryan was sacked by Jason Pierre-Paul, who also forced a fumble of the ball. Then Ndamukong Suh picked up the fumble and ran it in to the Bucs score. This made it 35-16 Tampa.
Then on the ensuing possession for Atlanta, they took Ryan out and put in Matt Schaub. He was able to move the team deep into Tampa territory before getting picked off by Mike Edwards. However, the call was overturned and ruled incomplete.
Schaub embraced the second chance and found Ridley for a final score on a 4th and 7 from the 21 yard line. This made it 35-22 with 1:56 left to play, and the Falcons last hope fizzled out on a failed onside kick.
The loss drops the Falcons to 3-8 on the season and ensures they won’t have a winning season. Tampa improved to 4-7 on the year. Atlanta has a very quick turn around as they host the Saints on Thanksgiving night.
Written by Bernard Ayala
