LAST MEETING
Atlanta 28, Tampa Bay 24 (Dec. 5, 2010) TAMPA – Honoring the history of the club in their Florida Orange uniforms, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers faced the division-rival Atlanta Falcons in the team’s second annual Throwback Game. Despite a high lev- el of play from the Buccaneers, who held a 10-point advantage late in the fourth quarter against the league-leading 9-2 Falcons, Atlanta was ultimately able to capitalize on several crucial Tampa Bay mis- cues to pull out a victory. The teams opened the game by trading punts, but quickly moved to scor- ing. Atlanta was the first to put points on the board with a five-yard run by RB Michael Turner, but Tampa Bay answered immediately with a rushing score of its own, as RB LeGarrette Blount broke free of defend- ers for a 20-yard run into the Atlanta territory.
That big play was followed with another, pushing through the remaining six yards to tie the game at 7-7. In the second quarter, the Falcons put together a 60- yard drive to go up by seven points on a 17-yard pass from QB Matt Ryan to FB Ovie Mughalli. The Buccaneers were forced to punt on their next pos- session, but with only 1:55 left in the half, S Sean Jones picked off a deep Ryan pass and returned it 31 yards to the Atlanta 30. QB Josh Freeman then took over, moving the team downfield and finding WR Mike Williams in the endzone to bring the score to 14-14. Here is a clip of the score.
Click this link to watch the video in your browser.
With the opening drive of the third quarter, K Connor Barth gave Tampa Bay its first lead of the game as he kicked a 33-yard field goal to bring the score to 17-14. Tampa Bay held on to the three-point lead before getting some breathing room early in the fourth quarter, when S Corey Lynch intercepted Ryan and allowed the Buccaneers offense to retake the field. Freeman led the team to the Atlanta two-yard line, where FB Earnest Graham completed his second career touchdown pass, hitting TE John Gilmore to make the score 24-14. The celebration was short- lived, however, as Atlanta KR Eric Weems slipped out of the hands of Tampa Bay tacklers on the subse- quent kickoff, returning the ball 102 yards for an At- lanta score. After holding the Buccaneers to a punt, Atlanta then took possession and utilized costly pen- alties by Tampa Bay to put together a scoring drive to take back the lead, 28-24, with 4:36 left to play. The Buccaneers appeared poised to put together the late game-winning drive, with WR Sammie Strough- ter nabbing a critical pass on fourth-and-12, bringing Tampa Bay deep into Falcons territory. But on the following play, CB Brent Grimes intercepted Freeman at the Atlanta 19-yard line, and, while the play was challenged, the booth review upheld the call on the field and Atlanta was awarded possession. With 1:50 left in the game, the Falcons ran out the clock to end the game.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
