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
By SportsDirect Inc.
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
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.