The Tampa Bay Bucs had no problems putting away the New York Giants away in the first-half of Sunday's game and turning up the heat on Atlanta. It was a statement win from Tampa that Atlanta Falcons fans have waited to see from their own team. Putting away an inferior team early and running up the score.
Whether it was Baker Mayfield taking over a New York celebration or the quarterback scrambling all over the field it was as dominating of a win as Tampa fans could reasonably hope for.
Tampa Bay continues to close ground on Atlanta's shaky NFC South lead
For the Falcons, this is exactly what they have been fearing with the Chargers and Vikings looming. The Bucs survived a brutal stretch of their schedule and despite being swept by the Falcons are now in a position to chase them down. It is inarguable that the Bucs are the more complete team right now with a defense consistently playing above their talent level.
A division that seemed to be all but won in late October is now back up for grabs with the Bucs looking to be the better team. Yes, the Falcons have easy games remaining against the Panthers, Raiders, and Giants. However, coming out of their bye week the Falcons will take on the Chargers and a great Vikings team in Minnesota.
In that same two week span the Bucs will be playing the Panthers and Raiders. Two teams that have shown improvement in recent weeks but are expected layup wins. This is a part of why Atlanta's loss to New Orleans continues to sting. Atlanta needed to put more pressure on Tampa and give themselves room to stumble in an increasingly difficult part of the schedule. As the race tightens the heat on Atlanta's coaching staff and roster mounts.