Atlanta Falcons vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Tampa Bay Grades, Notes & Quotes
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers continued their quest for an NFC playoff spot with a 23-19 win over the Atlanta Falcons, sweeping their NFC South rivals for the first time since 2007.
The Bucs moved to 6-6 on the year with the win, handing the Falcons their fifth straight loss and staying just one game out of the last NFC wild-card spot.
Quarterback Jameis Winston played hero once again, leading a game-winning drive in the final minutes to give the Bucs the comeback victory in front of their home crowd. Winston's Houdini-esque scramble on 3rd-and-19 put the Bucs within striking distance on the final drive, leading to a six-yard touchdown pass to Mike Evans to put them ahead for good.
Lavonte David capped an impressive performance by the defense with a nail-in-the-coffin interception on the first play of Atlanta's last-ditch drive following the Evans touchdown.
The Falcons managed just one touchdown all afternoon, settling for four Shayne Graham field goals and failing to capitalize on multiple red-zone trips. Despite scoring 10 points off turnovers and leading at halftime, the visitors simply couldn't seal the deal and hold off the Bucs to stop their snowballing losing streak.
Winston completed 18 of his 27 passes for 227 yards and the score, adding a rushing touchdown and an interception. The rushing score was Winston's fifth of the season, leading the team and tying a single-season franchise record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback.
Doug Martin and Charles Sims combined for 177 total yards, while Evans had 61 yards on five receptions, including the game-winning score. Vincent Jackson was Winston's biggest playmaker through the air, racking up 87 yards on just three receptions.
The Bucs have now won three of their last four games, have a 3-1 record against NFC South opponents and face three teams with losing records before facing the undefeated Carolina Panthers at home in Week 17.
Position Grades for Bucs
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Quarterback: A+
What more could Bucs fans ask from their rookie signal-caller? Jameis Winston avoided costly mistakes all game long, taking what the defense gave him and making big throws down the field. He then willed the team to victory in the final minutes with a ridiculous 3rd-and-long scramble before firing the game-winning touchdown to seal the comeback win.
Running Backs: B
Doug Martin tallied 100 total yards and a touchdown on 26 touches, as he continues to nip at Adrian Peterson's heels for the NFL rushing title. A late fumble that led to Atlanta's only touchdown marred his overall performance, but he was still the driving force behind the offense, as he has been all year. Charles Sims continues to be the perfect change-of-pace back, notching 77 total yards on just nine touches.
Wide Receivers: B
Mike Evans tipped a catchable pass into the arms of an Atlanta defender, setting up the Falcons for a go-ahead field goal just before the half. But the second-year pro overcame his miscues, catching five passes for 61 yards, including a fantastic sliding grab for the game-winning touchdown. Vincent Jackson was extremely productive, averaging 29 yards per catch on his three receptions.
Tight Ends: C
After a lengthy absence due to a shoulder injury, Austin Seferian-Jenkins caught three passes for 31 yards in his return but dropped a touchdown pass that would have made a huge difference in the complexion of the game. Cameron Brate added two catches for 12 yards. It was an adequate performance from this unit, but that dropped scoring chance hurts.
Offensive Line: B+
This group has quietly been a huge reason for Tampa Bay's success on offense this year, and Sunday's performance was no different. The Bucs racked up 166 yards on the ground while allowing just one sack. Costly penalties in key situations are the only thing keeping this unit from getting an A this week.
Defensive Line: A
Even without its two best players in Gerald McCoy and Jacquies Smith, this unit turned in a fantastic performance against both the run and pass. William Gholston bagged two of Tampa Bay's three sacks, while Devonta Freeman was held to just 47 yards rushing. This group did just enough to keep Matt Ryan and the Falcons offense from getting into a rhythm for most of the afternoon.
Linebackers: A
The Bucs have two of the most athletic playmakers at linebacker in the entire league, and they proved it on Sunday with an impressive performance. Lavonte David led the team with 11 tackles and snatched the game-sealing interception, while rookie Kwon Alexander tallied 10 tackles of his own, along with a sack, a forced fumble and a pass break-up.
Secondary: B
The Tampa 2 defense is all about bending but not breaking, and this group executed that quite well for most of the afternoon. They gave up plenty of yards in front of them but didn't allow Julio Jones to get behind them for any huge plays, only giving up a short touchdown pass due to poor alignment/play-calling. Overall, a solid outing from this unit.
Special Teams: A
No missed kicks from Connor Barth, some decent yardage in the return game from Bobby Rainey and Donteea Dye and keeping Devin Hester from being a factor at all? That all adds up to a fantastic grade for Tampa Bay's special teams.
Coaching: B
The penalties are still an issue—the Bucs were flagged eight times for 53 yards—but otherwise, this was a solid afternoon for Tampa Bay's coaching staff. Lovie Smith did a great job of dialing up blitzes on passing downs, knowing he was missing his two best pressure generators up front, and it allowed the defense to still be effective.
Win Keeps Bucs in Thick of NFC Playoff Race
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It seems crazy to think that just one year after finishing with the league's worst record at 2-14, the Bucs could be pushing for a playoff spot in December.
But that's just what's happening, as the Bucs are sitting just a game behind the Seattle Seahawks for the final NFC playoff spot at 6-6, and with a very advantageous schedule ahead of them. Tampa Bay's next three opponents all currently sport losing records, and their Week 17 finale against the Carolina Panthers could be impacted by whether or not the Panthers rest any of their starters for the playoffs.
Regardless of how things finish, Bucs fans have to be thrilled their team is playing meaningful football down the stretch, with playoff implications riding on every game from here on out.
Winston Saves Best for Last on Game-Winning Drive
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Once again, Winston saved his best tricks for Tampa Bay's final drive, willing the Bucs to victory with a key 3rd-and-long conversion and finishing it off with a laser of a touchdown pass to Evans to give Tampa Bay the lead for good.
After a holding penalty that nullified a long run from Martin that would have given the Bucs 1st-and-goal was followed by a sack, the Bucs were facing 3rd-and-19 and likely hoping to simply set up a game-tying field goal. But Winston took off running and, despite being met by a host of Falcons defenders, kept his balance and emerged from the pile, making more defenders miss on his way to moving the chains.
Moments later, Winston would find Evans near the edge of the end zone on yet another third down, capping off another game-winning drive.
With each week, performances like these are making more and more believers out of Bucs fans when it comes to their new franchise quarterback.
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Despite Absence of Key Starters, Defense Comes Up Big
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With two of their best defensive players out with injuries, many expected the Bucs to have a long afternoon on defense against a Falcons offense that boasted two of the NFL's most explosive offensive weapons.
But even without Gerald McCoy or Jacquies Smith in the lineup, the Bucs bent but didn't break on defense, giving up plenty of yards but clamping down in the red zone and only allowing one touchdown all afternoon. Gholston delivered two of Tampa Bay's three sacks, Alexander tallied 10 tackles, a sack and a forced fumble while Lavonte David led the team with 11 tackles and picked off Matt Ryan to seal the win on the final drive.
Injuries happen to every NFL team, and this time of year, teams simply have to overcome them if they want to stay alive in the playoff hunt. The Bucs did that on Sunday, and they remain very much alive in the NFC playoff picture as a result.
QB Jameis Winston in the Huddle: "Who Wants Game-Winning TD?"
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On third down with the game on the line, Winston asked a simple question of his offensive teammates, per Scott Reynolds of PewterReport.com:
"I’m going to do verbatim, and this is the story that everybody needs to talk about. I go in the huddle after the long drive and guys are tired. I said, ‘Who wants a touchdown?’ I smiled and said, ‘Who wants a touchdown?’ Mike smiled and said, ‘Me, me, me!’ I said, ‘All right, you’re going to get it.’ Honest to God truth.
I wish the center was miked up. Mike said, ‘Me, me, me!’ There were a couple of other guys that said, ‘Me’ too, but Mike was like a kid with the ‘Me, me, me!’ We got him the ball.
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Winston stayed true to his word, and Evans delivered with a sliding catch at the edge of the end zone to give the Bucs the lead with just under two minutes left in the game. Despite his miscues earlier in the game, Evans came up with a big play at the most crucial moment, a play he evidently asked for.
CB Alterraun Verner on Defensive Performance, Playoff Push
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The Bucs defense did what they were built to do on Sunday: give up plenty of yards between the 20s, but keep everything in front of them, limit big plays and clamp down in the red zone.
Nickel corner Alterraun Verner was impressed with the improvement the defense has made this season, recognizing the team believes it has what it takes to make a playoff run, per Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune:
"You’re starting to see the maturation of this defense. We all wish it would have happened earlier, but you’re seeing it happen at the right time for us right now, and right now everybody in this room believes we can win any Sunday against anybody. That’s a high-powered offense that Atlanta has and they were in must-win mode just like us today, so we know we got their best effort. But we came out on top, and it was huge to pull it off that way, because some things are out of our control but we know that, as far as making the playoffs, we have a chance. We really do.
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The defense finally cracked in the second half last week against the Colts, but they got the job done in a must-win home game against their NFC South rivals this week. The defense is doing their part to put the Bucs in position to make a playoff push down the stretch.
Joe Hawley on Winston's Magic
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He may be just a rookie, but Winston is already making believers out of fans and teammates alike.
After yet another dramatic comeback win, veteran center Joe Hawley said Winston is a rare breed in every way, per Stroud:
"He's the biggest competitor I've ever seen. He loves this game, and you can tell every time he gets the ball in his hands, he'll do anything to win. It's wild. I've never seen anything like it.
We didn't want to go to overtime and have to try and drive the field again. We were in position, and Jameis ran it, threw it and did whatever he could to help us win, and it was amazing.
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This year's No. 1 overall pick has taken the Bucs from a 2-14 bottom-feeder to a .500 team in December with a very real chance at a playoff berth. Even the most experienced veterans around him are feeding off of his competitiveness and will to win, and it's rubbing off on the entire team.
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