Buccaneers vs. Atlanta Falcons

WIN - Tampa Bay Buccaneers 14 Atlanta Falcons 09

The Atlanta Falcons, who in 1977 had set an NFL record for least points allowed, held the Buccaneers to no first downs and one pass completion in the first half. The Falcons were caught sitting on a 2-point lead when the Buccaneers put together a 57-yard fourth-quarter drive, capped by a touchdown pass from Doug Williams to Jim Obradovich, to win the game. Mike Washington scored early on a 79-yard return of a blocked field goal, which at the time was a Tampa Bay record. The Buccaneers missed two later touchdown opportunities on dropped passes by Isaac Hagins. Jimmy DuBose carried four times for 21 yards on the game-winning drive.

Mike Washington scored on a blocked field goal, and a Ricky Bell fumble led to Steve Bartkowski's 5-yard pass to Al Jackson. The Buccaneers ran out the clock by holding the ball for the final five minutes of the game, something coach McKay didn't think the team would be able to do against the Atlanta defense. The entire game was played in a driving rainstorm, with wind gusts of up to 40 mph. Hagins later underwent x-rays that revealed that he suffered a fractured vertebra during the game. He was placed on injured reserve, and Larry Franklin was signed to fill his roster spot.

Thanks to Doug Williams the Buccaneers managed to reach .500 for the first time in franchise history

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GAMEDAY BRIEF

OFFICALS

• REFEREE: #48 Gordon McCarter
• UMPIRE: #50 Tony Kramer
• LINE JUDGE: #39 Jack Fette
• LINESMAN: #70 Jerry Seeman
• BACK JUDGE: #5 Ray Douglas
• FIELD JUDGE: #23 Armen Terzian
• SIDE JUDGE: #58 Bill Quinby

SCORING

• FALCONS: 8:16-1Q Safety - blocked punt through the endzone
• BUCCANEERS: 2:32-1Q Washington 79 return of blocked fieldgoal (O'Donoghue kick)
• FALCONS: 9:32-3Q Jackson 5 pass from Barkowski (Steinfort kick)
• BUCCANEERS: 8:01-4Q Obradovich 15 pass from Williams (O'Donoghue kick)

STARTERS OFFENSE

• QB: #12 Williams
• LT: #75 Reavis
• LG: #78 Schumacher
• C: #79 Wilson
• RG: #68 Medlin
• RT: #70 Carlton
• TE: #88 Giles
• WR: #87 Mucker
• WR: #81 Hagins
• WR: #89 McKay
• RB: #35 DuBose

STARTERS DEFENSE

• LDE: #73 Hannah
• DT: #76 Pear
• RDE: #63 L. Selmon
• LOLB: #57 Lewis
• LILB: #61 D. Selmon
• RILB: #54 Wood
• ROLB: #56 Johnson
• LCB: #45 White
• SS: #33 Cotney
• FS: #25 Jordan
• RCB: #40 Washington

SUBSTITUTIONS

• 4 Green, 6 O'Donoghue, 19 Huff, 23 Ragsdale, 32 L Carter, 38 Davis, 42 Bell, 44 Cesare, 46 Reece, 51 Nafziger, 53 Bonness, 55 Brown, 64 Horton, 67 Moritz, 71 Crowder, 74 Freitas, 77 Kollar, 82 Darby, 85 Owens, 86 Obradovich

DID NOT PLAY

• 15 Rae, 60 Chambers, 65 Johnson

INACTIVE

• 34 Brown

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING

• BUCCANEERS: Bell 18-50, DuBose 11-50, Davis 1-2, Williams 4-(-8).
• FALCONS: Stanback 23-112, Bean 10-29, Patton 3-6, Bartkowski 4-1.

PASSING

• BUCCANEERS: Williams 23-6-74-0-1, Carter 1-1-21-0-0.
• FALCONS: Bartkowski 24-12-81-3-1.

RECIEVING

• BUCCANEERS: Hagins 4-45, Obradovich 2-36, McKay 1-14.
• FALCONS: Ryckman 4-23, Bean 4-23, Jackson 2-19, Stanback 1-13, Esposito 1-3.

INTERCEPTIONS

• BUCCANEERS: Washington 1-0, D.Selmon 1-0, Jordan 1-0.
• FALCONS: none.

KICK RETURNS

• BUCCANEERS: Ragsdale 2-56.
• FALCONS: Jackson 2-47, Strong 1-19.

PUNT RETURNS

• BUCCANEERS: Hagins 3-23, Hagins 2-4, Reece 0-0.
• FALCONS: Jackson 5-33.

SACKS

• BUCCANEERS: L.Selmon 1-12.
• FALCONS: Pridemore 1-13.

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