Tampa Bay Buccaneers 30-17 Atlanta Falcons: Bucs outclass Falcons

The Atlanta Falcons last won a home game at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium 372 days ago. They lost 30-17 on Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The game went how many expected it would. The Falcons put up a valiant first half effort, trailing by only three points. The second half though underlined just how far Arthur's Smiths team have to go to be considered competitive opposition in the NFC, as they were shutout. 

Tom Brady ended the day with 4 passing touchdowns; bringing his total vs. Atlanta this season to 9 passing TDs. He was able to attempt 51 pass attempts without being sacked. A damning indictment of the Falcons pass rush. Brady also improved his overall record to 10-0 vs the Falcons.

The Game

Tampa Bay received the ball to start the game and their gameplan on how they were going to attack Dean Pees defence was clear from the get go. Zero rushing attempts as Brady dropped back to pass on all 13 plays. It showed the Bucs had absolutely no respect for the Falcons pass rush. They did have to convert two third downs and one fourth down on the drive that ended with a Brady 3 yard touchdown pass to Leonard Fournette in the corner of the endzone. 7-0 Tampa.

The Falcons response was brilliant, a six play drive where they rushed for a total of 63 yards. It was capped off with a Mike Davis 17 yard touchdown run to tie the game at 7-7. The Buccaneers retook the lead with a passing touchdown to Cameron Brate. The key plays on the drive were Tom Brady's big completions to his dynamic set of wide receivers Chris Godwin and Mike Evans to get the Buccaneers into Atlanta territory. Kicker Ryan Succop missed the PAT to leave the score at 13-7 Tampa.

After the teams exchanged punts, Matt Ryan and his offense started with the ball on their own 20 yard line. Ryan converted three third downs through the air, two to Gage and one to Pitts. This left the Falcons on the Bucs 1 yard line but we had to settle for a field goal after a costly botched snap on second down was followed up by an incomplete pass on third down, as Ryan attempted to fit the ball to Cordarelle Patterson in a tight window. Koo made the chip shot field goal to narrow the deficit to three. 13-10 Tampa.

The Bucs added to their lead when Tom Brady found the greatest tightend of all time in Rob Gronkowski, who had gotten open running a crossing route from 27 yards out. 20-10 Tampa. Tom Brady could play until 60 if he is pressured on his dropbacks as little as he was on Sunday. The Falcons managed just two pressures despite Brady throwing the ball 51 times. Putrid. On Tampa Bays next offensive possession, Marlon Davidson pick 6'd Tom Brady as he attempted a screen pass. It was a great instinctive play by the former Auburn tiger and a play he'll remember forever. It left the score at 20-17 at the half. About as good a half as you could expect from the Falcons. 

The second half saw the Falcons embarrassingly shut out. They didn't lay a glove on Tom Brady. I've been following the Falcons for a decade and we have never been good at rushing the passer. Just once, It would be nice to have a competent defence. The Buccaneers didn't need to score another point to win the game but they did manage to add another ten. Brady found Gronkowski for his 4th passing touchdown of the day before a late Ryan Succop field goal put the icing on the cake. Full Time. 30-17. Matt Ryan was sacked 5 times and hit another 11. It's a miracle that he hasn't been hurt this season. 

Falcons Offensive Star

Chris Lindstrom: The former Boston College offensive linemen has been an unsung hero for the Atlanta Falcons this season. He had a brilliant game create run lanes for Mike Davis and Cordarelle Patterson on Sunday. He earned a 86.6 grade from PFF. He is PFF's #5 ranked guard this season which shows he is key piece the Falcons must build around.

Falcons Defensive Star

Marlon Davidson: The Falcons defence didn't really have any stars on Sunday. I picked Davidson mainly because he scored a pick 6. He done a decent job stopping the run. Hopefully he can continue to make impactful plays in the future. No other Falcons defender had a PFF grade 70 or over. Davidson earned a 90.1 grade.

Falcons Positives

Russell Gage: Gage had a really costly fumble in the game but that shouldn't over shadow the fact he played a very good game on Sunday. He hauled in eleven receptions on twelve targets for 130 yards. Seven of these receptions moved the chains. 

Improvements in the run game: Mike Davis rushed for a touchdown for only the second time this season. Atlanta's running backs ended the game with 19 rushes for 117 yards; a good effort against the best run defence in the NFL. 

Falcons Negatives

Deion Jones: Debo is a shadow of the player he was in his early years with the Falcons. Tom Brady completed eight of his ten passes for over 80 yards when targeting Jones in coverage. Two of which were touchdown passes to running back Leonard Fournette and tightend Cameron Brate. 

Jalen Mayfield and Drew Dalman: Two rookie offensive linemen who haven't looked promising in the opportunities they have been given this season. The Mayfield pick received criticism at the time and those critics have been on the money so far. Dalman looked like a rabbit in the headlights going against Vita Vea and Ndamukong Suh. The pair gave up a combined eight pressures and three sacks.

Falcons secondary: Tom Brady abused any player in the Falcons secondary not named AJ Terrell. I had said in my preview that we needed the other cornerbacks to step up and they failed miserable. Chris Godwin and Mike Evans racked up 22 catches for 242 receiving yards.

Image taken from PFF.com 

What Arthur Smith Had To Say

Here is what coach Arthur Smith had to say

"We’ve got to be cleaner with the football, there’s no doubt about that. Deflate is not a word we use. We’re going to keep fighting and swinging. Call it damaging, call it deflating, but we don’t use those words. We’ll continue to swing and fight and we’ll fight until the finish."

Box Score 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 
Passing: Tom Brady 38/51 for 368 yards, 4 touchdowns and 1 interception, 112.2 passer rating.
Rushing: Leonard Fournette 13 carries for 44 yards.
Receiving: Chris Godwin 15 receptions for 143 yards.

Atlanta Falcons
Passing: Matt Ryan 30/41 for 297 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions, 93.2 passer rating.
Rushing: Cordarelle Patterson 13 carries for 78 yards.
Receiving: Russell Gage 11 receptions for 130 yards.

Highlights

The highlights are available here on youtube.

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