Sunday December 16, 2007 - Atlanta Falcons vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers Gameday Report

WON - Tampa Bay Buccaneers 37 Atlanta Falcons 03

The Buccaneers stayed home this week for a rematch against their division rivals the Atlanta Falcons. With the convincing victory, Tampa Bay clinched the NFC South division title, maintained a perfect 5–0 division record, and scored their first kickoff return touchdown in franchise history.

Tampa Bay's defense recorded the first points of the game, as Ronde Barber intercepted Chris Redman's pass on the third play of the game and returned it 29 yards for a touchdown. Atlanta got on the board next with kicker Morten Andersen making a 33-yard field goal. On the ensuing kickoff, Micheal Spurlock made team history by becoming the first Buccaneer player to return a kickoff for a touchdown. It was the first kickoff return touchdown for Tampa Bay in 32 seasons, 498 games, and 1,865 attempts.

After the Buccaneers defense forced a Falcons punt, Jeff Garcia commandeered a long, clock-eating 10-minute drive ending in a 33-yard field goal by Matt Bryant to make the score 17–3. With just over five minutes remaining in the first half, Tampa bay recovered an Atlanta fumble, and Earnest Graham scored a 1-yard TD run. Graham became the first player in club history to score a touchdown in six consecutive games. With a 24–3 lead, Tampa Bay performed a pooch kickoff, and Atlanta muffed the return, while Kalvin Pearson recovered. Tampa Bay drove to the 24-yard line, but DeAngelo Hall intercepted a pass intended for Joey Galloway at the Atlanta 11-yard line. The Buccaneers would immediately regain possession as Greg White forced and recovered a fumble on the next play. Matt Bryant then easily converted a 28-yard field goal to take a 27–3 lead into halftime.

The Buccaneers would receive the second half's opening kickoff, but was forced to punt after a 7-minute drive. On Atlanta's third play, Jermaine Phillips intercepted a pass intended for Jerious Norwood which set Tampa Bay up at the Atlanta 23-yard line. Matt Bryant then scored the half's first points with a 34-yard field goal to make the score 30–3. In the fourth quarter, punter Josh Bidwell successfully pinned Atlanta at their own 6-yard line. The resulting poor field position eventually led to Tampa Bay taking over near midfieldied Michael Bennett carried six times all the way to the Atlanta 1-yard line, from which Anthony Becht scored the game's final points off a 1-yard TD catch.

Statistically, Tampa Bay's defense dominated Atlanta. The Falcons managed only 133 yards of total offense, committed five turnovers, and were 0-for-9 on third down conversions. The Falcons crossed midfield only once, and Tampa Bay's time of possession was 43 minutes. On the following Wednesday, the kickoff return touchdown earned Spurlock the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week award.

Click here to view official GAMEBOOK & play-by-play highlights

GAMEDAY BRIEF

WEATHER: Sunny - 68°F. - Humidity 60% - Wind N.W. 25-35 mph

OFFICALS

REFEREE: Jeff Triplette
UMPIRE: Jim Quirk
HEAD LINESMAN: Steve Stelljes
LINE JUDGE: Jeff Seeman
SIDE JUDGE: Greg Meyer
BACK JUDGE: Gregory Steed
FIELD JUDGE: Duke Carroll
REPLAY OFFICAL: Bill Spyskma
VIDEO OPERATOR: Not Documented

SCORING

BUCCANEERS: 14:00-1Q Barber 29 interception return (Bryant kick)
FALCONS: 6:32-1Q Andersen FG33
BUCCANEERS: 6:19-1Q Spurlock 90 kickoff return (Bryant kick)
BUCCANEERS: 11:24-2Q Bryant FG33
BUCCANEERS: 4:09-2Q Graham 1 run (Bryant kick)
BUCCANEERS: 0:00-2Q Bryant FG28
BUCCANEERS: 4:08-3Q Bryant FG34
BUCCANEERS: 7:42-4Q Becht 1 pass from Garcia (Bryant kick)

STARTERS OFFENSE

WR: #84 J. Galloway
LT: #70 D. Penn
LG: #78 A. Sears
C: #76 J. Wade
RG: #75 D. Joseph
RT: #65 J. Trueblood
TE: #81 A. Smith
WR: #80 M. Clayton
QB: #07 J. Garcia
RB: #34 E. Graham
FB: #44 B. Storer

STARTERS DEFENSE

LE: #93 K. Carter
DT: #95 C. Hovan
DT: #71 J. Haye
RE: #90 G. Adams
SLB: #59 C. June
MLB: #51 B. Ruud
WLB: #55 D. Brooks
LCB: #20 R. Barber
RCB: #31 P. Buchanon
SS: #23 J. Phillips
FS: #28 T. Jackson

SUBSTITUTIONS

3 Bryant, 5 Gradkowski, 9 Bidwell, 17 Spurlock, 19 Hilliard, 22 Davis, 25 Kelly, 26 Allen, 29 Bennett, 32 Pittman, 39 Pearson, 48 Economos, 54 Chukwurah, 56 Nece, 57 Hayward, 58 Black, 68 Lehr, 69 Davis, 85 Stovall, 87 Heinrich, 88 Becht, 91 White, 98 Sims

DID NOT PLAY

12 McCown

INACTIVE

30 Crockett, 33 Darby, 35 Askew, 50 Trotter, 72 Buenning, 94 Spires, 96 Peterson

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING

BUCCANEERS: Graham 22-79, Bennett 9-63, Pittman 13-50, Clayton 1-0, Gradkowski 3-(-2).
FALCONS: Norwood 9-73, Dunn 8-32, Redman 1-1, Mughelli 1-1, Snelling 1-(-1).

PASSING

BUCCANEERS: Garcia 25-15-109-1-0.
FALCONS: Redman 15-4-34-2-0.

RECIEVING

BUCCANEERS: Graham 5-40, Pittman 3-20, Clayton 2-22, Becht 2-10, Hilliard 1-9, Galloway 1-7, Storer 1-1.
FALCONS: Robinson 1-18, Dunn 1-7, Jenkins 1-5, White 1-4.

INTERCEPTIONS

BUCCANEERS: Barber 1-29, Philiips 1-2.
FALCONS: Hall 1-0.

KICK RETURNS

BUCCANEERS: Spurlock 2-98.
FALCONS: Jennings 4-93, Norwood 2-32.

PUNT RETURNS

BUCCANEERS: Hilliard 5-31.
FALCONS: Jennings 1-0.

SACKS

BUCCANEERS: Adams 1-7.
FALCONS: Abraham 1-9, Davis 1-5.