Bucs Take Down Falcons’ Rocky Offense

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers swept the Atlanta Falcons 30-17 Sunday and moved up to a 9-3 record.

Bucs coming in hot

Running back Leonard Fournette secured the ball with a sleek one-handed catch to give the Bucs a six-point lead two minutes into the first quarter; this was just the beginning.

Brady didn’t hesitate to throw the ball in the second possession. He threw a 30-yard pass to Godwin, a 46-yard pass to Evans and a 13-yard pass to tight end Cameron Brate in the endzone. Bucs were up 13-7.

Gronkowski made his second appearance in the end zone with a 19-yard touchdown thirty seconds left in the third. No real action occurred in the fourth until a Bucs field goal by kicker Ryan Succop with a minute remaining in regulation.

Throughout the game, Brady threw 368 yards for a 74.5% completion rate. Wide receiver Chris Godwin led the team with 15 passes and 143 passing yards though did not snag a touchdown.

“Tom knows what he’s thinking before he does,” coach Bruce Arians said.

“Tom threw a couple of balls before Gronk was ready because he knew where he was going. There’s great chemistry out there.”

Tight end Rob Gronkowski clutched a touchdown with a 17-yard ball run straight into the endzone to carry the score 19-10. With the two-minute clock winding down and a failed Falcons conversion, the Bucs took possession. Confident and ahead of the game, Tampa was tripped up by a fiery Falcons defense.

Falcons on the offense

The Falcons came out of the gate with a 39-yard rush by utility player Cordarrelle Patterson, who rushed for 78 yards in the game. Running back Mike Davis dodged Tampa’s defense as he slipped through an opening to score a touchdown nine minutes into the first quarter. He put up 32 rushing yards and 37 receiving yards.

Atlanta rounded out the first half with a last-minute pick-six by defensive tackle Marlon Davidson and was once again down by three. They did not score in the second half.

Falcons slip-ups

Bucs defense sacked quarterback Matt Ryan to wind down the first quarter. It was the first of five sacks for Ryan.

Ryan fumbled the snap with a second and goal eight minutes into the second quarter; just one of three fumbles he built up. With a missed catch to Patterson, Ryan and the Falcons had no choice but to force a field goal and bring the score deficit to three.

Tampa cornerback Pierre Desir knocked the ball out of wide receiver Russell Gage’s hand, forcing a fumble recovered by cornerback Carlton Davis. It was Gage’s first fumble of the season and the second in his professional career.

"The offensive line [has] had a great season."

1 RT = 1 #ProBowlVote@TristanWirfs78 @DSmith_76 @sinjen66 #AlexCappa #AliMarpet pic.twitter.com/7ifAbKehLG

— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) December 5, 2021

Up next

The Buccaneers will face the Buffalo Bills Sunday at 4:25 p.m. while the Falcons take on the Carolina Panthers Sunday at 1 p.m.