Buccaneers vs. Atlanta Falcons 
WON - Tampa Bay Buccaneers 34 Atlanta Falcons 10
Falcons quarterback Michael Vick entered the game with considerable pregame hype and an 8-game unbeaten streak. Vick, however, was sacked twice by the Buccaneers, and held to only 125 yards passing and a measly 15 yards rushing. Meanwhile, Brad Johnson connected on four touchdowns (two apiece to Jurevicius and McCardell) as the Buccaneers won 34–10.
In two games against Tampa Bay, Vick has completed just 16 passes for 162 yards, one touchdown and one interception. On October six, Vick completed just four of 12 passes for 37 yards before sustaining an injured shoulder on a third-down Simeon Rice sack. He was hit hard several times on this Sunday as well, as the Bucs’ pass rush was relentless, but never left the game.
Plus, any though that the second-year scrambler would run wild on the Bucs’ defense effectively ended on the third play of the game when LB Derrick Brooks hit him square in the chest after a one-yard scramble. After rushing just one time for one yard in the first Bucs-Falcons contest, Vick ran five times.
With the victory, Tampa Bay maintained its grip on first place in the NFC South with three weeks remaining. By game's end, the Bucs had a 1.5-game lead on both Atlanta and New Orleans, though the Saints’ late-afternoon game would either expand Tampa Bay's edge to two games or shrink it to one. The Bucs also became the first NFL team to 10 wins, at 10–3, as the 9–3 Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers were also scheduled for later games.
GAMEDAY BRIEF
OFFICALS
- REFEREE: Tony Corrente
- UMPIRE: Garth DeFelice
- HEAD LINESMAN: Aaron Pointer
- LINE JUDGE: Mark Steinkerchner
- SIDE JUDGE: Tom Fincken
- BACK JUDGE: Don Carey
- FIELD JUDGE: Peter Morelli
- REPLAY OFFICAL: Mark Burns
- VIDEO OPERATOR: Not Documented
SCORING
- BUCCANEERS: 11:12-2Q Jurevicius 10 pass from B.Johnson (Gramatica kick)
- BUCCANEERS: 7:42-2Q Jurevicius 13 pass from B.Johnson (Gramatica kick)
- FALCONS: 2:02-2Q Feely FG30
- BUCCANEERS: 0:34-2Q McCardell 14 pass from B.Johnson (Gramatica kick)
- BUCCANEERS: 9:56-3Q Gramatica FG42
- BUCCANEERS: 5:20-3Q Gramatica FG21
- FALCONS: 11:40-4Q Crumpler 5 pass from Vick (Feely kick)
- BUCCANEERS: 8:31-4Q McCardell 27 pass from B.Johnson (Gramatica kick)
STARTERS OFFENSE
- QB: #14 B. Johnson
- TE: #85 K. Dilger
- LT: #72 R. Oben
- LG: #71 K. Jenkins
- C: #62 J. Cristy
- RG: #60 C. Coleman
- RT: #67 K. Walker
- RB: #32 M. Pittman
- WR: #87 K. McCardell
- WR: #19 K. Johnson
- FB: #40 M. Alstott
STARTERS DEFENSE
- RE: #97 S. Rice
- NT: #92 A. McFarland
- LT: #99 W. Sapp
- LE: #94 G. Spires
- WLB: #55 D. Brooks
- MLB: #53 S. Quarles
- SLB: #51 A. Singleton
- RCB: #20 R. Barber
- LCB: #25 B. Kelly
- SS: #47 J. Lynch
- FS: #34 D. Jackson
SUBSTITUTIONS
- 7 Gramatica, 9 Tupa, 10 King, 23 Phillips, 26 Smith, 27 Stecker, 30 Barnes, 35 Ivy, 38 Howell, 43 Cook, 52 Webster, 58 Golden, 66 Benjamin, 74 Green, 75 Brown, 77 Washington, 80 Yoder, 83 Jurevicius, 86 Williams, 88 Dudley, 90 Gurley, 91 Darby, 95 Warner
DID NOT PLAY
- none
INACTIVE
- 11 Johnson, 31 Wansley, 64 Goodspeed, 81 Lee, 84 Barlow, 89 Crawford, 93 Claybrooks, 96 Wyms
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING
- BUCCANEERS: Alstott 13-95, Stecker 4-30, Pittman 9-25, King 1-2, Williams 2-(-2).
- FALCONS: Duckett 11-52, Dunn 9-14, Johnson 1-3, Vick 1-1.
PASSING
- BUCCANEERS: B.Johnson 31-23-276-0-4.
- FALCONS: Vick 25-12-125-1-1.
RECIEVING
- BUCCANEERS: Jurevicius 8-100, Pittman 4-50, McCardell 4-49, Dilger 3-18, K.Johnson 2-25, Dudley 1-31, Cook 1-3.
- FALCONS: Kelly 2-25, Crumpler 2-25, Jefferson 2-11, Duckett 2-11, Finneran 2-3, Gaylor 1-47, Christian 1-3.
INTERCEPTIONS
- BUCCANEERS: Jackson 1-21.
- FALCONS: none
KICK RETURNS
- BUCCANEERS: Stecker 2-45.
- FALCONS: Rossum 6-103.
PUNT RETURNS
- BUCCANEERS: Williams 1-12.
- FALCONS: Rossum 3-37.
SACKS
- BUCCANEERS: Spires 1-6.
- FALCONS: Kerney 1-5.
