Buccaneers vs. Falcons: Score and Twitter Reaction from Tampa Bay's Upset

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-4) blew a 17-point lead for the second week in a row, but head coach Lovie Smith's squad held on to defeat the Atlanta Falcons, 23-20, in overtime on Sunday to avoid another demoralizing loss. 

After the Falcons (6-2) tied the game at 20 with 17 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, rookie quarterback Jameis Winston marched his squad 68 yards down the field on the first possession of overtime, which allowed Connor Barth to kick a 31-yard field goal and give the Bucs a 23-20 lead. 

Atlanta's offense ultimately stalled on the ensuing possession, and the Buccaneers emerged with a signature victory. Tampa Bay has now officially surpassed last season's win total.     

Bleacher Report's Sanjay Kirpalani was impressed with Tampa's mental fortitude in the extra session: 

However, the win didn't come without a series of tense moments. 

The turning point came late in the fourth quarter, when Tampa Bay was faced with a huge decision on 4th-and-1 on its own 40-yard line while leading by seven. With two minutes remaining, Smith opted to try to get the first down on a quarterback sneak in lieu of punting, and the Falcons defense came up with a huge stop. 

Bleacher Report's Mike Tanier provided his take on Tampa Bay's miscue:  

As he's done so many times in the past, Matt Ryan took the ball with no timeouts and calmly led the Falcons to a game-tying drive that culminated in an eight-yard Julio Jones touchdown catch.  

It appeared as though turnovers would dictate the story after Tampa tallied all 20 of its points in regulation off four Falcons giveaways, but Dan Quinn's boys stood tall despite trailing 20-3 in the third quarter. 

Ryan led Atlanta on a 10-play, 80-yard drive that was punctuated by a Jacob Tamme touchdown reception in the third, and a Matt Bryant field goal proceeded to dwindle Tampa's edge to seven with just under five minutes remaining in the final frame. 

The Falcons moved the ball at will throughout the first half, but costly turnovers stymied their ability to sustain any sort of production on offense over the first 30 minutes. 

Tampa Bay's Kwon Alexander stripped Jones on a catch-and-run in the first quarter, and that represented the start of Atlanta's turnover woes. A shoddy snap from center Mike Person halted a 13-play, 67-yard drive deep in Buccaneers territory in the second quarter, and Atlanta's next drive ended in a Ryan interception. 

Ryan capped off the first half with a fumble, and truth be told, it was a fitting way to cap off an underwhelming stanza. Tampa Bay feasted on Atlanta's ineptitude, and as NFL Network's Brian Billick explained, the Falcons won't be able to sustain their winning ways with such careless giveaways: 

Ryan completed 37 of 45 passes for 397 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, and it was clear from the game's first snap that Jones was in for a big day. The Falcons' most lethal weapon finished with 12 catches for 162 yards to go with his fourth-quarter score. 

Tamme was also terrific, tallying 10 catches for 103 yards as Atlanta's top two targets set a team record, per ESPN Stats & Info: 

Positives may have been few and far between for the Falcons, but the Buccaneers had to be pleased with the performance of their rookie quarterback in enemy territory. 

Matched up against a division rival, Winston looked collected in the pocket despite completing just 55 percent of his passes. Although Tampa's offense didn't eat up chunks of yards between the 20s quite like Atlanta, Winston helped the Bucs capitalize on turnovers and put enough points on the board to keep the Falcons pressing. 

All told, Winston completed 16 of 29 passes for 177 yards and a touchdown while tacking on a four-yard rushing touchdown in the third quarter. 

Second-half surges aside, the Falcons can't continue to turn the ball over at such high rates. They were bludgeoned by the New Orleans Saints two weeks ago as the result of sloppy play, and last week's 10-7 win over the Tennessee Titans was nearly marred by turnovers. 

Inefficient red-zone practices have hampered what previously appeared to be one of the league's most explosive offenses, but there's no denying offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan's unit has the pieces necessary to scorch opponents. 

The Falcons will have a chance to regain early-season form next weekend against the sputtering San Francisco 49ers, while Tampa Bay is set to return home for a showdown with the New York Giants.

Smith's squad has to be feeling good about its ability to remain mentally strong a week after losing in heartbreaking fashion. It would have been easy for Tampa to collapse after having flashbacks of a Week 7 meltdown against the Washington Redskins, but Winston and the Bucs' young offense made mature strides with the clutch win. 

Post-Game Reaction

Quinn addressed the Falcons' shortcomings following the loss, according to the team's official Twitter account: 

"There's a lot of work left to do but I've got all the faith in these guys that we can go far," Quinn added, per the Falcons' Twitter account. 

Elsewhere, Smith defended his decision to try and ice the game on 4th-and-1. 

"I'd make that call 10 out of 10 times," the Buccaneers' coach said, according to the Tampa Tribune's Roy Cummings. 

Alexander played Sunday with a heavy heart following the death of his brother on Friday, and according to Cummings, the team presented him with the game ball. 

"You can tell a lot about a man the way he overcomes adversity," Winston said of Alexander, per the Tampa Bay Times' Rick Stroud.