The Tampa Bay Buccaneers got back into the win column this afternoon. The Bucs went into Atlanta and took down the Falcons with the help of Chris Godwin.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers got back into the win column this afternoon. The Bucs went into Atlanta and took down the Falcons 35-22. The story of this game was the defense; for all the talk about the lack of secondary, the unit made a statement today.
The Bucs held Matt Ryan to 271 yards, no touchdowns, and an interception. They also stopped wide receiver Julio Jones for what seems like the first time ever. Jones was held to five catches for 68 yards. The back end was able to intercept the veteran quarterback with Carlton Davis taking the ball from Calvin Ridley.
The front seven also played lights out. They were able to sack Ryan five times with rookie Devin White picking up two of those. Free-agent pick-up Ndamukung Suh even scored his second touchdown of the season after Jason Pierre-Paul forced a fumble on a scrambling Matt Ryan.
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On offense, the Bucs started slow as quarterback Jameis Winston was intercepted twice in the first three possessions. After that, however, Winston was able to pick the Falcons apart for most of the game. He connected with third year receiver Chris Godwin early and often as he would finish with seven receptions for 184 yards and two touchdowns. Godwin destroyed the secondary down the seems and had one of the best touchdown catches we will see all season.
After having a franchise low in rushing attempts last week, the Bucs ran the ball 31 times, counting the runs by Winston and 26 times without them. Winston played much better after his two interceptions as he made good reads and decisions with the ball.
For the first time in a long time, we were able to see the Bucs score on consecutive possessions with two touchdowns to end the first half and a field goal to open the second. We also were able to see this team play with a lead, and it looked like something fans could see themselves getting used to.
For the fifth straight game, we witnessed Winston throw for over 300 yards, but more importantly, it was the first time he did so without throwing more than 30 attempts. The team played a complete game for 60 minutes and will look to continue this momentum heading into Jacksonville next week to take on the Jaguars.