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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARI at CIN | CAR at GB | CHI at SEA | CLE at BAL | KC at IND | MIA at PHI | NE at BUF | NO at HOU |
| NYG at DET | OAK at MIN | PIT at NYJ | SD at JAX | STL at SF | TB at ATL | TEN at DEN | WAS at DAL |
Week 11 Game Recap: Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31, Atlanta Falcons 7
What you need to know
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
QB Jeff Garcia helped Tampa Bay jump out to an early lead with a touchdown strike to WR Joey Galloway from 44 yards out and followed that up with a third quarter scoring connection with TE Alex Smith. Garcia finished with 159 yards passing and made good decisions all game long to lead the Buccaneers.
RB Earnest Graham led the Tampa Bay rushing attack, finishing with 102 yards on the ground, along with a 26 yard touchdown run. Graham was patient when he had to be, and made a few nice cut back runs as he wore down the Atlanta defense.
Joey Galloway had the first big play of the game, as he faked a slant inside on DeAngelo Hall and burned him downfield for a 44 yard touchdown grab. TE Alex Smith scored from 21 yards out in the second half on Tampa Bay's other big scoring play for the game.
The Buccaneers shut down the Falcons in nearly every aspect of the game, stuffing their running attack and pressuring the Atlanta quarterbacks on nearly every drop back to disrupt their passing game. Along the way, they forced four turnovers that led to 24 points and forced the Falcons to bench starting QB Byron Leftwich in favor of backup Joey Harrington. DB Ronde Barber scored on a big play for the defense on a Leftwich fumble, returning it 41 yards for a score.
| Atlanta Falcons |
Byron Leftwich started the game and could not get anything going for the Falcons, turning the ball over four times and eventually being pulled for backup Joey Harrington. Harrington fared better in garbage time, where he threw for 139 yards and Atlanta's only touchdown.
RB Warrick Dunn and the Atlanta rushing attack were completely stuffed by Tampa Bay, finishing with just 49 yards as a team for the game, but Dunn did contribute eight receptions for 40 yards in the passing game.
WR Michael Jenkins led the Falcons with nine receptions for 73 yards and WR Adam Jennings accounted for the club's only touchdown of the game, catching a seven yard scoring reception in the fourth quarter.
Atlanta's defense did not get much help on the offensive side of the ball, and as a result, was worn down by the Buccaneers offense. They did force and recover two fumbles, but the offense could not do anything with the extra opportunities. On the negative side, they gave up three touchdowns of over 20 yards and seemed to have a few mix ups in coverage downfield that resulted in Tampa Bay scores.
What you ought to know
| QB Jeff Garcia, Pass: 10 - 20 - 159 - 2 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 2 - 5 - 0 |
Garcia did not post huge numbers against Atlanta, but he made plays when he had to and seemed to make the right decision every time. He finished ten of 20 for 159 yards, two touchdowns and zero turnovers. The first score came on a 44 yard strike to WR Joey Galloway that gave Tampa Bay an early 7-0 lead, and Garcia followed that score with a 21 yard touchdown to TE Alex Smith. With those two touchdowns and the help the Buccaneers received from their defense, Garcia was able to watch the fourth quarter from the sideline.
| QB Bruce Gradkowski, Pass: 1 - 1 - 2 - 0 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 2 - -2 - 0 |
Gradkowski entered the game late in the fourth quarter to allow starter Jeff Garcia to watch the remainder of the game from the sideline. He completed the only pass he threw for two yards and had two kneel downs for minus two yards rushing.
| RB Earnest Graham, Rush: 17 - 102 - 1, Rec: 1 - 6 - 0 (1 targets) |
Graham got off to a slow start in the first half, rushing seven times for 27 yards, but picked it up in the second half on his way to 102 yards on 17 carries. He seemed to get stronger as the game went on, and that showed on a fourth quarter 26 yard touchdown run. Graham continued to show a skill set that has helped him be successful to this point with excellent cut back vision and tough running in between the tackles. He also caught the only pass thrown to him for a six yard reception.
| RB Michael Pittman, Rush: 10 - 44 - 0, Rec: 2 - 17 - 0 (5 targets) |
Pittman returned from injury to give the Buccaneers offense another much needed weapon, and chipped in with 44 yards rushing on ten attempts and getting five targets in the passing game, finishing with 17 receiving yards on two receptions. On the negative side, Pittman did lose a fumble and had a drop on a third down play that would have given the Buccaneers a first down.
| WR Joey Galloway, Rec: 2 - 63 - 1 (2 targets) |
Joey Galloway was only targeted twice in the game, but made the most of it. He caught both balls thrown his way for 63 yards, including a 44 yard touchdown reception. On the touchdown grab, he made a great double move that gave him separation from DB DeAngelo Hall and Galloway was able to bring down the Garcia pass to complete the long score.
| WR Ike Hilliard, Rec: 1 - 14 - 0 (2 targets) |
Ike Hilliard caught one pass for 14 yards on two targets for the game.
| WR Michael Clayton |
Clayton was active for the game, but was not targeted.
| WR Maurice Stovall (2 targets) |
Stovall was targeted twice but failed to come down with a catch in the game.
| TE Alex Smith, Rec: 3 - 51 - 1 (5 targets) |
Smith was targeted five times in the ball game, catching three passes for 51 yards that included a 21 yard touchdown reception. On the touchdown catch, Smith split the Atlanta zone down the seam, took a hit and was able to hang on for the score.
| PK Matt Bryant 1 - 1 FG, 4 - 4 XP, 7 points |
Bryant connected on a 23 yard field goal and added four extra points to finish with seven points.
| TB Rush Defense |
Tampa Bay's defense was ready to play from the opening kickoff, swarming to the ball like the Buccaneer defenses of old, attacking the Falcons from every direction. They completely shut down the Atlanta rushing attack, holding them to 49 yards on 19 carries, for just 2.6 yards per rush, and a long run of just seven yards. Because of their domination in the trenches, Atlanta was forced into third and longs that they could not convert, which was a big reason Tampa Bay was able to run away with the game.
LB Cato June led the Buccaneers defense with nine solo tackles and a forced fumble.
| TB Pass Defense |
The Buccaneers were able to make Atlanta one dimensional, forcing them to try to beat them through the air with their passing game. The Falcons struggled to do just that, as Tampa Bay brought constant pressure with their front seven that was coupled with excellent coverage downfield. When Atlanta did come down with receptions, the Buccaneers swarmed to the ball with hard hitting, forcing three fumbles.
Tampa Bay made all of the big plays defensively, finishing with four sacks, two interceptions and three forced fumbles. The Buccaneers scored 24 points off of Atlanta turnovers, including a fumble return for a score by DB Ronde Barber. DL's Chris Hovan and Gaines Adams each recorded a sack, with fellow DL Greg White recording two sacks and two forced fumbles himself. LB Barrett Rudd and Hovan recorded interceptions for Tampa Bay.
| QB Byron Leftwich, Pass: 15 - 28 - 106 - 0 TD / 2 INT |
Leftwich got the start in his return from ankle surgery and for Leftwich and the Atlanta Falcons, it was a return they would like to forget. He finished 15 of 28 for 106 yards, zero touchdowns, two interceptions and two fumbles. As a result, he failed to lead his team on any drives inside the red zone, and was replaced late in the third quarter by Joey Harrington.
| QB Joey Harrington, Pass: 16 - 20 - 139 - 1 TD / 0 INT |
Harrington entered the game late in the third quarter with Atlanta already down 24-0 and played well in relief of Leftwich. He finished 16 of 20 for 139 yards and the team's only touchdown, connecting with WR Adam Jennings from seven yards out to get the Falcons on the board and avoid the shutout. Harrington's play in this game, along with his success in the past two weeks, make it a bit of a mystery why he was bumped this week in favor of Leftwich.
| RB Warrick Dunn, Rush: 15 - 32 - 0, Rec: 8 - 40 - 0 (12 targets) |
Dunn had a tough time finding room in the run game, finishing with 15 rushes for just 32 yards, but was busy in the passing game with eight receptions for 40 yards. He led the club in targets with 12 and proved to be a reliable outlet for both of the Atlanta quarterbacks.
| RB Jerious Norwood, Rush: 2 - 4 - 0, Rec: 2 - 10 - 0 (2 targets) |
Norwood wasn't used much in the game, running the ball just two times for four yards and catching the only two passes thrown his way for ten yards. He did have a big play in the return game, running a kickoff back 87 yards for a touchdown, but the play was called back on an Atlanta penalty.
| WR Michael Jenkins, Rec: 9 - 73 - 0 (11 targets) |
Jenkins was the most targeted Atlanta wideout, finishing with 11 for the game, and led the Falcons with nine receptions for 73 yards.
| WR Roddy White, Rec: 4 - 28 - 0 (8 targets) |
White was targeted eight times, finishing with four receptions for 28 yards. White, who has struggled with drops all year long, continued to have problems and had at least two more balls thrown his way that he should have come down with. He also fumbled the ball away on one of his receptions, but after an unusual sequence of events, the Falcons were able to get the ball back from the Buccaneers after a fumble of their own on the run back.
| WR Adam Jennings, Rec: 2 - 11 - 1 (2 targets) |
Jennings caught the only two passes thrown his way for 11 yards and came down with a seven yard scoring reception late in the fourth quarter.
| WR Laurent Robinson, Rec: 2 - 43 - 0 (7 targets) |
Robinson was targeted seven times, most of which came on long pass routes downfield, and caught two passes for 43 yards. Two of his targets came on passes thrown to him in the end zone, but Robinson was not able to capitalize.
| TE Alge Crumpler, Rec: 3 - 28 - 0 (6 targets) |
Crumpler was targeted six times in the game, finishing with three receptions for 28 yards.
| PK Morten Andersen 0 - 0 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 1 points |
Anderson did not attempt a field goal in the game and made good on an extra point attempt to finish with one point.
| ATL Rush Defense |
Atlanta played well against the run in the first half, holding Tampa Bay to 49 yards rushing before the break, but wore down as the game went on, as the Buccaneers doubled that total in the second half, rushing for 100 second half yards, including a rushing touchdown.
LB Keith Brooking led the defense with five solo tackles and three assists.
| ATL Pass Defense |
While the Falcons did not give up huge passing numbers against Tampa Bay, they gave up big plays at the wrong times, and the Buccaneers capitalized. They seemed to have mix ups in coverage, as Tampa Bay scored both of its passing touchdowns from over 20 yards out. DB DeAngelo Hall was burned on the first score by WR Joey Galloway and Tampa Bay TE Alex Smith ran free through a three deep zone for the second passing score.
DB Jonathan Babineaux led the Atlanta secondary with five solo tackles and DL John Abraham, who did give the Buccaneers trouble with the pass rush, finished with the club's only sack.
