Week 15 recap: Atlanta Falcons vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Atlanta Falcons win in a too close for comfort game on Monday Night Football against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
On Monday night in Tampa, the Atlanta Falcons were able to edge out the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by a score of 24-21 to keep their playoff and division title hopes alive.
Despite the Bucs missing a slew of key players like running back Doug Martin, defensive lineman Gerald McCoy and linebacker LaVonte David, it took a missed 54 yard field goal in the last seconds by Bucs kicker, Patrick Murray for the Falcons to pull one out.
The first half went pretty well for the Falcons. Atlanta receiver Justin Hardy, on his birthday, was on the receiving end of a Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan touchdown pass. The reception put Atlanta up early.
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Later, in the second quarter, Falcons tight end Levine Toilolo was able to recover a Devonta Freeman (Atlanta running back) fumble in the endzone to put the Dirty Birds up 14-7. A little before the half, the ageless wonder, Atlanta kicker Matt Bryant, boomed a 57 yard field goal to give the Falcons a 17-7 lead.
The Falcons were in a perfect position to put a few daggers in the Bucs, but the Bucs kept fighting back. In the third quarter, Bucs receiver Mike Evans scored on a 42 yard James Winston (Bucs quarterback) touchdown pass to pull Tampa within 3. In the forth quarter, Freeman looked like he put the game away on a 32 yard touchdown run to give the Falcons a 10 point lead. But again, the Bucs wouldn’t go away.
Jameis Winston led the Bucs on a 75 yard touchdown drive to again pull the Bucs within 3. With the Falcons not able to convert on a 3rd down after the two minute warning, the Bucs had a chance to take the game into overtime or possibly win it. However, Murray missed a 54 yard field goal to seal the win for the Falcons.
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The Falcons are now in prime position to either make the playoffs as a wild card or win the division. Buckle up….It’s going to be a fun two weeks.