Tom Brady saved alive two of his long-standing traditions — warding off three-game shedding streaks and losses to the Atlanta Falcons — as his Tampa Bay Buccaneers topping a wounded Falcons flock, 21-15, on Sunday. After consecutive losses, an in depth 14-12 defeat as opposed to Aaron Rodgers’ Green Bay Packers and an awesome 41-31 defeat towards Patrick Mahomes’ Kansas City Chiefs, Tampa Bay used Atlanta as its get-right recreation.
The win guarantees Brady’s handiest shedding streak of 3 or extra video games stays two decades up to now, Weeks 4-8 within the 2002 season, his first because the New England Patriots’ full-time beginning quarterback. The 45-year-old improves to 11-0 towards the Falcons, tied for the second-most wins with no loss for a quarterback towards a unmarried crew in NFL historical past. Only Hall of Famer Otto Graham’s 12-0 report as opposed to the Cardinals is a extra dominant such stretch towards a unmarried crew than Brady’s.
After permitting greater than 40 issues per week in the past towards the Chiefs, simply the 1/3 time Bowles’ Tampa Bay protection had allowed greater than 40 in a recreation and their first time doing so since 2019, they suffocated a Falcons offense lacking two of its top two guns, working again Cordarrelle Patterson (knee surgical procedure) and tight end Kyle Pitts (knee damage), for 3 quarters. Atlanta entered Sunday as a top-five flooring assault, averaging 168 speeding yards in step with recreation, recent off totaling 202 in a Week 4 win towards the Cleveland Browns. However, Bowles’ protection saved the Falcons beneath their season reasonable, 151 yards on 31 carries.
Whenever Falcons quarterback Marcus Mariota dropped again to go, it gave the look of there have been Buccaneers in an instant arriving within the backfield, as the previous second-overall draft select was once sacked 5 instances whilst making an attempt 25 passes. He completed with 147 passing yards on 14-of-25 passing with a landing and no interceptions.
The recreation general was once a bounce-back for the Buccaneers, yet particularly working again Leonard Fournette. Despite signing a three-year, $21 million extension this offseason, Fournette began the 2022 season slowly, and not using a speeding touchdowns and one rubbish time, five-yard receiving landing towards the Chiefs. His sluggish get started resulted in Week 5 with a season-high 139 scrimmage yards (56 speeding and 83 receiving), and two touchdowns, together with his first speeding landing of 2022, and a career-high 10 receptions.
However, the Falcons protection helped Atlanta claw again into the sport overdue within the 1/3 quarter. They compelled 3 consecutive punts within the drives following Brady’s one-yard, play-action landing go to Fournette that put the Buccaneers on top 21-0. A six-play landing march concluded after the 6th directly working play noticed second-year working again Avery Williams ranking his first profession speeding landing after the primary of the ones 3 punts.
After Mariota’s 19-yard passing landing to vast receiver Olamide Zaccheus on a run-pass choice and next two-point conversion go to vast receiver KhaDarel Hodge, Atlanta was once again inside of a landing, trailing 21-15 with 4:38 to play. It gave the impression the Falcons have been going to get a possibility to take the lead with a little bit beneath 3 mins left within the recreation after defensive take on Grady Jarrett sacked Brady on third-and-five. The sack did not stand for lengthy as a arguable roughing the passer penalty dominated he used an excessive amount of power in wrangling the 45-year-old to the bottom. Brady picked up a primary down within the subsequent collection of performs, icing the sport.
For a extra detailed breakdown of ways this recreation opened up, keep tuned for our primary takeaways.
Why the Buccaneers gained
Tampa Bay ruled the primary 3 quarters, racing out to a 21-0 lead with 6:09 left within the 1/3. Todd Bowles’ protection compelled the Falcons to punt on 5 in their first six possessions as Marcus Mariota struggled mightily. The Falcons’ quarterback threw for handiest 53 yards on 9-of-18 passing whilst being sacked 4 instances within the first 3 quarters. That opening defensive dominance mixed with Fournette’s all-around manufacturing was once sufficient to dangle on to their preliminary three-touchdown merit.
Brady did not have his sharpest efficiency, yet 351 passing yards, one landing and no turnovers on 35-of-52 passing was once the environment friendly efficiency that was once wanted. His ball safety was once obviously the point of interest after shedding the soccer on a strip-sack towards the Chiefs per week in the past. Brady’s Week 5 efficiency marks his moment recreation in a row with over 350 passing yards after he submit 385 ultimate week. Another certain construction for the Buccaneers was once the play of Chris Godwin. His go back from a torn ACL has been touch-and-go: he overlooked Weeks 2-3 with a hamstring damage and exited the crew’s Week 1 win on the Dallas Cowboys early. This week, Godwin’s efficiency was once immaculate, catching all six of his goals for 61 yards and appearing larger wiggle, particularly on a nine-yard display go that he took down to the 1, which arrange the primary landing of the day, Fournette’s one-yard ranking.
Why the Falcons misplaced
The overarching causes for Atlanta’s close-but-not-quite comeback stems from their offensive inactiveness within the first 3 quarters. Without Kyle Pitts to pull defenders clear of Atlanta’s 8th general draft select, rookie vast receiver Drake London, he had his second-lowest receiving yardage output of his younger profession, 35 yards on 4 catches. London’s seven goals have been essentially the most Mariota regarded somebody’s manner on Sunday. The Falcons’ offense in the end got here to lifestyles within the fourth quarter, yet handiest after their protection compelled 3 fast Buccaneer punts that set Atlanta up in favorable beginning box positions.
However, it is unattainable for the Falcons to no longer play the what-if recreation after Grady Jarrett’s 1/3 down sack gave the impression to give Atlanta the ball backpedal six issues earlier than the two-minute caution. The next penalty on what gave the impression to be a blank, regimen takedown of Brady for roughing the passer extinguished all hope for a Falcons rally. If Atlanta can get Pitts again subsequent week or work out how to generate more straightforward techniques to get London and their different pass-catchers the ball previous in video games, the Falcons can be a difficult out for everybody they play going ahead.
Turning issues
First part
Two vital sequences swung Sunday’s recreation in prefer of the Buccaneers, one on the end of each and every part. The first was once an Antoine Winfield Jr. sack of Marcus Mariota with 37 seconds left that halted the Falcons’ easiest ownership of the primary part, forcing them to accept a 52-yard box purpose two performs later. The typically unswerving Younghoe Koo overlooked vast appropriate, and two completions later from Brady to Fournette allowed their kicker Ryan Succop to push thru a 44-yard box purpose, making the halftime ranking 13-0. That whole series encompassed a six-point swing, the eventual margin of victory on the end of the sport.
Second part
The erasure of Jarrett’s snatch 1/3 down sack of Brady courtesy of a roughing the passer penalty allowed for the Buccaneers to run the sport clock down to triple zeroes. Each time the replay cycles thru, the decision seems increasingly mystifying.
Play of the sport
Mike Evans had a quite quiet day for himself, 4 receptions for 81 receiving yards on 8 goals. This catch for twenty-four yards on the Buccaneers’ first landing power was once the bite play they wanted to destroy into the Falcons’ purple zone. The complete extension to protected the soccer in-between two defenders illustrated why he has been one of the vital NFL’s maximum unguardable goals since he entered the league in 2014.
What’s subsequent
From right here, the Buccaneers will head north for his or her first of 2 highway video games, dealing with rookie Kenny Pickett and the Pittsburgh Steelers. This matchup will function one of the vital larger age-gap discrepancies between opposing beginning quarterbacks the league has ever noticed. As for the Falcons, they go back house to Atlanta to face Jimmy Garoppolo and the San Francisco 49ers.