Spokesman-Review
National Football League
Atlanta 28, Tampa Bay 24
When: 4:15 PM ET, Sunday, December 5, 2010
Where: Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida
Temperature: 72°
Head Official: Tony Corrente
Attendance: 53955

Matt Ryan hit Michael Jenkins for the go-ahead score with 4:30 left and Brent Grimes came up with a game-saving interception as the Atlanta Falcons held on for their sixth straight win, beating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 28-24 on Sunday.

Eric Weems returned a kickoff 102 yards for the NFC South-leading Falcons (10-2), who overcame a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to maintain a one-game lead over Chicago (9-3) and division rival New Orleans for home-field advantage in the conference.

It was a disheartening loss for Tampa Bay (7-5), which was in search of a signature win after being outscored 113-50 against teams with winning records.

After Ryan hit Jenkins for a 9-yard score that put Atlanta ahead 28-24, Josh Freeman drove the Buccaneers to the Atlanta 27-yard line with 2:18 remaining.

Freeman, who has six fourth-quarter comebacks in his young career, converted a fourth-and-11 with a 19-yard pass to Sammie Stroughter. But one play later, Grimes made a diving interception along the sideline.

The play was upheld after a short review and Atlanta was able to run out the clock behind Michael Turner, who finished with 88 yards and a touchdown.

The Buccaneers seemed headed toward their much-needed quality win when they took a 24-14 lead on a halfback pass from Earnest Graham to John Gilmore with 10:30 left in the game.

Top Game Performances
Rushing
Atlanta   Tampa Bay
Michael Turner Player LeGarrette Blount
24 Attempts 20
88 Yards 103
3.7 Avg Yards 5.2
1 Touchdowns 1
11 Long 28
Receiving
Atlanta   Tampa Bay
Roddy White Player Mike Williams
7 Receptions 6
74 Yards 68
10.6 Avg Yards 11.3
0 Touchdowns 1
25 Long 21
Team Stats Summary
 
  Yards Scoring Defense
Team Tot Rus Pas TD FG INT Sck FF
Atlanta 290 85 205 4 0 1 1.0 0
Tampa Bay 325 151 174 3 1 2 0.0 0
Upcoming Games
  • Tampa Bay will play their next game on the road against Washington. The Buccaneers have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .000 after a loss.
  • Atlanta will play their next game on the road against Carolina. The Falcons have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .000 after a loss.