Buccaneers vs. Atlanta Falcons 
LOSS - Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24 Atlanta Falcons 28
The Buccaneers hosted division rival Atlanta, wearing their orange throwback uniforms. Tied 7–7 in the second quarter, Matt Ryan completed a 17-yard touchdown pass to Ovie Mughelli and a 14–7 Atlanta lead. With two minutes left in the first half, Ryan was intercepted by Sean Jones. With 15 seconds left in the half, Josh Freeman threw a touchdown pass to Mike Williams, to tie the score at 14–14.
Connor Barth kicked a 33-yard field goal, and Tampa Bay took a 17–14 lead in the third quarter. With 12:33 left in the game, Corey Lynch intercepted Matt Ryan. The turnover led to a 2-yard touchdown pass to John Gilmore, and Tampa Bay led 24–14 with 10:24 remaining.
Eric Weems returned the ensuing kickoff 102 yards for a touchdown. That trimmed the lead to 24–21. On Atlanta's next drive, Ronde Barber was called for pass interference, and Quincy Black was penalized for a "horse-collar tackle." Atlanta quickly scored a 9-yard touchdown pass to Michael Jenkins, and took a 28–24 lead with 4:31 left.
Josh Freeman led Tampa Bay on a hopeful go-ahead drive. Facing 4th down and 12 at the Atlanta 46-yard line, Freeman completed a 19-yard pass to Sammie Stroughter to keep the drive alive. On the next play, however, Freeman was intercepted by Brent Grimes at the 19-yard line, securing the victory for Atlanta.
GAMEDAY BRIEF
OFFICALS
- REFEREE: Tony Corrente
- UMPIRE: Fred Bryan
- HEAD LINESMAN: John McGrath
- LINE JUDGE: Adrian Hill
- SIDE JUDGE: Allen Baynes
- BACK JUDGE: Gregory Wilson
- FIELD JUDGE: Gary Cavaletto
- REPLAY OFFICAL: Howard Slavin
- VIDEO OPERATOR: Not Documented
SCORING
- FALCONS: 6:23-1Q Turner 5 run (Bryant kick)
- BUCCANEERS: 0:25-1Q Blount 6 run (Barth kick)
- FALCONS: 4:37-2Q Mughelli 17 pass from Ryan (Bryant kick)
- BUCCANEERS: 0:15-2Q M.Williams 1 pass from Freeman (Barth kick)
- BUCCANEERS: 11:34-3Q Barth FG33
- BUCCANEERS: 10:24-4Q Gilmore 2 pass from Graham (Barth kick)
- FALCONS: 10:03-4Q Weems 102 return (Bryant kick)
- FALCONS: 4:31-4Q Jenkins 9 pass from Ryan (Bryant kick)
STARTERS OFFENSE
- WR: #19 M. Williams
- LT: #70 D. Penn
- LG: #62 T. Larsen
- C: #52 J. Faine
- RG: #76 J. Zuttah
- RT: #77 J. Lee
- TE: #80 R. Purvis
- WR: #17 A. Benn
- QB: #05 J. Freeman
- RB: #27 L. Blount
- TE: #88 J. Gilmore
STARTERS DEFENSE
- LE: #96 T. Crowder
- DT: #93 G. McCoy
- DT: #90 R. Miller
- RE: #91 S. White
- SLB: #58 Q. Black
- MLB: #51 B. Ruud
- WLB: #54 G. Hayes
- LCB: #25 A. Talib
- RCB: #20 R. Barber
- SS: #26 S. Jones
- FS: #41 C. Lynch
SUBSTITUTIONS
- 1 Malone, 10 Barth, 11 J Johnson, 18 Stroughter, 23 Lewis, 24 Williams, 28 Lumpkin, 31 Biggers, 33 Mack, 34 Graham, 44 Lorig, 48 Economos, 53 Koutouvides, 57 Hayward, 65 Trueblood, 71 Bennett, 73 Hardman, 81 Spurlock, 82 Winslow, 85 Stovall, 95 Woods, 97 Magee
DID NOT PLAY
- none
INACTIVE
- 12 Carpenter, 22 Asante, 56 Watson, 60 Carter, 61 Barker, 78 Okam, 87 Parker, 89 Briscoe
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING
- BUCCANEERS: Blount 20-103, Freeman 4-28, Benn 2-10, C.Williams 2-8, Stroughter 1-2.
- FALCONS: Turner 24-88, Ryan 3-(-3).
PASSING
- BUCCANEERS: Freeman 38-19-181-1-1, Graham 1-1-2-0-1.
- FALCONS: Ryan 36-18-205-2-2.
RECIEVING
- BUCCANEERS: Stroughter 6-48, M.Williams 5-59, Winslow 3-26, C.Williams 2-6, Gilmore 2-6, Benn 1-28, Purvis 1-10.
- FALCONS: White 7-74, Gonzalez 3-38, Mughelli 3-32, Jenkins 3-30, Douglas 1-21, Johnson 1-10.
INTERCEPTIONS
- BUCCANEERS: Jones 1-31, Lynch 1-0.
- FALCONS: Grimes 1-33.
KICK RETURNS
- BUCCANEERS: Spurlock 5-119.
- FALCONS: Weems 4-163, Finneran 1-18.
PUNT RETURNS
- BUCCANEERS: Spurlock 3-13.
- FALCONS: Weems 1-10.
SACKS
- BUCCANEERS: none
- FALCONS: Babineaux 1-9.
