Bucs 21, Falcons 15: Instant analysis of Tampa Bay’s Week 5 win
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers held off a valiant comeback effort from the Atlanta Falcons in Week 5, escaping with a 21-15 victory over their NFC South rivals.
Here’s everything that went right for the Bucs, what went wrong, and what it means for the team moving forward:
What Went Right
(Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
Shutting out your opponent for the first three quarters is never a bad thing, and racking up five sacks doesn’t hurt, either. For most of the game, Tampa Bay took full advantage of a Falcons offense that was missing two of their most explosive playmakers (Cordarrelle Patterson, Kyle Pitts).
Antoine Winfield Jr. was flying around the field, making big plays at every level. Tampa Bay’s five sacks were evenly split among five players, most of them coming from young players or backups.
Leonard Fournette was a force all game long, both on the ground and through the air, leading the Bucs in both rushing and receiving. He racked up 139 totals yards, ran for a touchdown, and caught Tom Brady’s only touchdown pass.
Speaking of Brady, he threw for 351 yards with no turnovers, doing most of his damage in the first half as the Bucs built up a two-score lead before the break. Rookie tight end Cade Otton stepped up with his best performance of the year so far, which bodes well for the offense moving forward.
Mike Evans was his usual, spectacular self, averaging over 20 yards per catch on his four receptions, including an incredible 25-yarder that tested his arm length and concentration.
Ryan Succop was money again, hitting all of his kicks.
What Went Wrong
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This feels like an underwhelming victory because the Bucs let a 21-0 lead in the third quarter turn into a situation where the Falcons were one more possession away from stealing the game at the end.
The defense relented after three shutout quarters, giving up a pair of touchdown drives in the fourth quarter, and a two-point conversion that could have given the Falcons a chance to win the game with another scoring drive in the final minutes.
For the second straight game, Tampa Bay’s usually dominant rushing defense gave up 150 yards on the ground, as missed tackles continue to be an issue.
It was a Jekyll-and-Hyde day for the offense, which had impressive stretches where they looked unstoppable, followed by frustrating droughts where nothing was working. There were more questionable play calls, particularly a drive in the fourth quarter that featured three straight passes, with no effort to run clock with the ground game.
Injuries in the secondary piled up in the second half, and could test Tampa Bay’s depth in the coming weeks.
The Bottom Line
(Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
There’s plenty the Bucs still need to clean up, but the ugly wins count just as much as the pretty ones.
Yes, it was a narrow win over an inferior opponent that the Bucs should have easily dominated with a multi-score victory. Yes, they were bailed out by a terrible roughing-the-passer penalty on the final drive that allowed them to run out the clock.
This team is a long way from Super Bowl caliber right now, but championship teams figure out ways to win these kinds of games. Tampa Bay got the job done, and that should give them confidence that they can keep doing it in the future.
