Tampa Bay Buccaneers-Atlanta Falcons: Highs and Lows from Sunday's 27-21 Falcons Victory

In a game with first place in the NFC South on the line, the Atlanta Falcons defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to improve their record to 6-2. Below are both the highs and the lows from the 27-21 Atlanta victory.

The Highs

The Dirty Bird Goal Line Stand: Late in the game, Tampa Bay had the ball on the Atlanta two-yard line threatening to take the lead. The Atlanta defense came up huge, as they stopped LeGarrette Blount on fourth-and-one in what turned out to be the game winning play.

Atlanta's Ball Control: On their first two possessions of the game, Atlanta came away with 14 points. In addition to putting points on the board, the two scoring drives took 11 minutes off the clock.

Their first two possessions set the tone for controlling the ball the rest of the game. Atlanta went on to win the time of possession battle by nine minutes.

Tampa Bay's Defense Making Two Clutch Stops: Although they went on to lose, Tampa's young defense made two clutch defensive stands in crucial moments of the ballgame. After a failed onside kick attempt and a Josh Freeman interception, the Bucs defense held the Falcons scoreless on each ensuing drive.

The Two Michaels: Michael Turner finished with 107 yards and two early touchdowns for the Falcons. For Tampa Bay, Michael Spurlock returned an 89-yard kickoff for a touchdown. Spurlock finished the day with a 52-yard return average on four kickoff returns. He also had two receptions for 46 yards.

The Lows

Cadillac Williams: Williams finished the game with 13 yards on eight carries and one reception for nine yards. He has clearly been outplayed by rookie LeGarrette Blount the last three games.

Once the rookie has more experience picking up blitzes, the Bucs will most likely retire the Cadillac to the garage.

Onside Kick Attempt: I guess Raheem Morris was trying to pull a page out of Sean Payton's playbook. After the Bucs scored a touchdown on an 89-yard kickoff return by Michael Spurlock, they attempted an onside kick.

It looked as though the gutsy call paid off, as the Bucs recovered the ball. However, the review showed the ball hitting Connor Barth before traveling ten yards, giving the Falcons the ball with good field position.

If the Tampa defense had not stopped Atlanta on the ensuing drive, the game would have been over sooner than it was. In addition, the onside kick would have looked that much sillier.

Maybe I am a little too conservative, but why risk losing momentum and more importantly the game on a risky call?

Atlanta's Special Teams: Tampa Bay had five kickoff returns for a total of 221 yards, which is a 44-yard return average for each kick. Thankfully, the Falcons made up for the dismal special teams play by having no turnovers and only four penalties.

With sole possession of first place in the NFC South, the Falcons will host Baltimore next Sunday. Tampa Bay will play host to Carolina.