GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: NFL: TAMPA BAY (5-4) at ATLANTA (3-6)

NFL: TAMPA BAY at ATLANTA

<div class="pre">NFL TWO MINUTE WARNING, 2ND HALF

TAMPA BAY 31
ATLANTA 0

ATL BALL ON TAM 38 YD LINE
3RD AND 7</div>

 

NFL: TAMPA BAY at ATLANTA

<div class="pre">NFL TD ATL
MICHAEL JENKINS 7 YD PASS FROM JOEY HARRINGTON
(MORTEN ANDERSEN KICK)

TAMPA BAY 31
ATLANTA 7 1:10 LEFT, 4TH QTR</div>

 

NFL: TAMPA BAY at ATLANTA

<div class="pre">NFL
TAMPA BAY 31
ATLANTA 7 1:05 LEFT, 4TH QTR

TAM BALL ON TAM 26 YD LINE
1ST AND 10</div>

 

NFL: TAMPA BAY at ATLANTA

<div class="pre">NFL FINAL 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
TAMPA BAY 7 7 10 7 31
ATLANTA 0 0 0 7 7 FINAL

SCORING SUMMARY

1ST QUARTER: TAM - TD, JOEY GALLOWAY 44 YD PASS FROM JEFF
GARCIA (MATT BRYANT KICK), 7:17.
Drive: 3 plays, 72 yards in 1:02.
Key plays: Ruud 5-yard interception
return to Tampa Bay 28; Garcia
7-yard pass to Smith plus 15-yard
roughing the passer penalty on
Falcons' Abraham to Atlanta 44.
TAMPA BAY 7-0
2ND QUARTER: TAM - TD, RONDE BARBER 41 YD FUMBLE RETURN
(MATT BRYANT KICK), 4:18. TAMPA BAY
14-0
3RD QUARTER: TAM - FG, MATT BRYANT 23 YD, 8:25. Drive: 8
plays, 49 yards in 3:22. Key plays:
Tampa Bay takes over on downs at
Tampa Bay 46; Garcia 19-yard pass
to Galloway to Atlanta 35; Graham
11-yard run to Atlanta 9. TAMPA BAY
17-0
TAM - TD, ALEX SMITH 21 YD PASS FROM JEFF
GARCIA (MATT BRYANT KICK), 10:09.
Drive: 3 plays, 27 yards in 1:29.
Key plays: Hovan 3-yard
interception return to Atlanta 27.
TAMPA BAY 24-0
4TH QUARTER: TAM - TD, EARNEST GRAHAM 26 YD RUN (MATT
BRYANT KICK), 0:07. Drive: 6 plays,
45 yards in 3:39. Key plays: Koenen
24-yard punt to Atlanta 45; Garcia
6-yard pass to Graham on 3rd-and-3
to Atlanta 33. TAMPA BAY 31-0
ATL - TD, MICHAEL JENKINS 7 YD PASS FROM JOEY
HARRINGTON (MORTEN ANDERSEN KICK),
13:50. Drive: 13 plays, 82 yards in
5:15. TAMPA BAY 31-7

ATT: 69,480</div>

 

NFL: TAMPA BAY at ATLANTA

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
NFL
TAMPA BAY 31
ATLANTA 7 FINAL</div>

 

NFL: TAMPA BAY at ATLANTA

<div class="pre">NFL FINAL 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
TAMPA BAY 7 7 10 7 31
ATLANTA 0 0 0 7 7 FINAL

SCORING SUMMARY

1ST QUARTER:

7:17 TAM - TD, JOEY GALLOWAY 44 YD PASS FROM JEFF GARCIA (MATT BRYANT KICK).
Drive: 3 plays, 72 yards in 1:02.
Key plays: Ruud 5-yard interception return to Tampa Bay 28; Garcia
7-yard pass to Smith plus 15-yard roughing the passer penalty on Falcons'
Abraham to Atlanta 44. TAMPA BAY 7-0.

2ND QUARTER:

4:18 TAM - TD, RONDE BARBER 41 YD FUMBLE RETURN (MATT BRYANT KICK).
TAMPA BAY 14-0.

3RD QUARTER:

8:25 TAM - FG, MATT BRYANT 23 YD.
Drive: 8 plays, 49 yards in 3:22.
Key plays: Tampa Bay takes over on downs at Tampa Bay 46; Garcia
19-yard pass to Galloway to Atlanta 35; Graham 11-yard run to Atlanta 9.
TAMPA BAY 17-0.
10:09 TAM - TD, ALEX SMITH 21 YD PASS FROM JEFF GARCIA (MATT BRYANT KICK).
Drive: 3 plays, 27 yards in 1:29.
Key plays: Hovan 3-yard interception return to Atlanta 27. TAMPA BAY
24-0.

4TH QUARTER:

0:07 TAM - TD, EARNEST GRAHAM 26 YD RUN (MATT BRYANT KICK).
Drive: 6 plays, 45 yards in 3:39.
Key plays: Koenen 24-yard punt to Atlanta 45; Garcia 6-yard pass to
Graham on 3rd-and-3 to Atlanta 33. TAMPA BAY 31-0.
13:50 ATL - TD, ADAM JENNINGS 7 YD PASS FROM JOEY HARRINGTON (MORTEN ANDERSEN KICK).
Drive: 13 plays, 82 yards in 5:15.
Key plays: Harrington 11-yard pass to Jenkins on 3rd-and-10 to
Atlanta 29; Harrington 11-yard pass to White to Tampa Bay 41; Harrington
10-yard pass to White to Tampa Bay 38; Harrington 33-yard pass to Robinson
on 3rd-and-7 to Tampa Bay 5. TAMPA BAY 31-7.

TAMPA BAY - ATLANTA Final Statistics

TEAM STATISTICS TAMPA BAY ATLANTA

FIRST DOWNS 15 15
Rushing 5 3
Passing 7 11
Penalty 3 1
THIRD DOWN EFFICIENCY 3-10-30% 5-16-31%
FOURTH DOWN EFFICIENCY 0-1-0% 0-2-0%
TOTAL NET YARDS 305 275
Total offensive plays 53 71
Average gain per play 5.8 3.9
NET YARDS RUSHING 149 49
Rushing attempts 31 19
Average gain per rush 4.8 2.6
Tackles for loss-yards 1-1 3-3
NET YARDS PASSING 156 226
Times sacked: Number-Yards 1-5 4-19
Gross passing yards 161 245
PASS ATTEMPTS-COMPLETIONS-HAD INTERCEPTED 21-11-0 48-31-2
Avg gain per pass play 7.1 4.3
KICKOFFS: Number-In End Zone-Touchbacks 6-0-0 2-1-0
PUNTS: Number and Average 5-42.2 7-36.7
Had blocked 0 0
Net punting average 41.6 34.6
TOTAL RETURN YARDAGE (Not including kickoffs) 11 15
Number-Yards: Punt Returns 3-3 4-15
Number-Yards: Kickoff Returns 2-20 6-118
Number-Yards: Interception Returns 2-8 0-0
PENALTIES: Number-Yards 6-45 11-105
FUMBLES: Number-Lost 2-2 3-2
TOUCHDOWNS 4 1
Rushing 1 0
Passing 2 1
Interceptions 0 0
Other (blocked kicks, etc.) 1 0
EXTRA POINTS: Made-Attempts 4-4 1-1
Kicking: Made-Attempts 4-4 1-1
Passing: Made-Attempts 0-0 0-0
Rushing: Made-Attempts 0-0 0-0
FIELD GOALS: Made-Attempts 1-1 0-0
FGs - PATs had blocked 0-0 0-0
RED ZONE EFFICIENCY 0-1-0% 1-1-100%
GOAL TO GO EFFICIENCY 0-1-0% 1-1-100%
SAFETIES 0 0
TIME OF POSSESSION 27:26 32:34


INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

TAMPA BAY ATLANTA

RUSHING ATT YDS AVG LG TD RUSHING ATT YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
E GRAHAM 17 102 6.0 26 1 W DUNN 15 32 2.1 6 0
M PITTMAN 10 44 4.4 21 0 J SNELLING 2 13 6.5 7 0
J GARCIA 2 5 2.5 6 0 J NORWOOD 2 4 2.0 5 0
B GRADKOWS 2 -2 -1.0 0 0

PASSING CM-AT-YDS IN TD LG PASSING CM-AT-YDS IN TD LG
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
J GARCIA 10-20-159 0 2 44 J HARRINGT 16-20-139 0 1 33
B GRADKOWS 1- 1- 2 0 0 2 B LEFTWICH 15-28-106 2 0 14

Sacked-Yards Lost: J GARCIA 1-5. Sacked-Yards Lost: B LEFTWICH 3-12,
J HARRINGT 1-7.

RECEIVING NO YDS AVG LG TD RECEIVING NO YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
A SMITH 3 51 17.0 23 1 M JENKINS 9 73 8.1 14 0
J GALLOWAY 2 63 31.5 44 1 W DUNN 8 40 5.0 9 0
M PITTMAN 2 17 8.5 11 0 R WHITE 4 28 7.0 11 0
I HILLIARD 1 14 14.0 14 0 A CRUMPLER 3 28 9.3 12 0
B ASKEW 1 8 8.0 8 0 L ROBINSON 2 43 21.5 33 0
E GRAHAM 1 6 6.0 6 0 A JENNINGS 2 11 5.5 7 1
B STORER 1 2 2.0 2 0 J NORWOOD 2 10 5.0 8 0
O MUGHELLI 1 12 12.0 12 0

INTERCEPTIONS NO YDS AVG LG TD INTERCEPTIONS NO YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
B RUUD 1 5 5.0 5 0
C HOVAN 1 3 3.0 3 0

PUNTING NO YDS AVG T I LG PUNTING NO YDS AVG T I LG
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
J BIDWELL 5 211 42.2 0 3 61 M KOENEN 7 257 36.7 1 4 47

T = Touchbacks, I = Inside 20

PUNT RETURNS NO YDS AVG LG TD PUNT RETURNS NO YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
P BUCHANON 3 3 1.0 7 0 A JENNINGS 3 14 4.7 7 0
A HARRIS 1 1 1.0 1 0

KICKOFF RETURNS NO YDS AVG LG TD KICKOFF RETURNS NO YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
M SPURLOCK 1 21 21.0 21 0 J NORWOOD 5 110 22.0 27 0
P BUCHANON 1 -1 -1.0 0 0 J BABINEAUX 1 8 8.0 8 0

KICKING XP/XPA FG/FGA KICKING XP/XPA FG/FGA
---------------------------------- ----------------------------------
M BRYANT 4/4 1/1 M ANDERSEN 1/1 0/0
Dist.: 23

O-D O-D
FUMBLES NO LOST FF REC FUMBLES NO LOST FF REC
------------------------------------ ------------------------------------
C JUNE 1 1 1 0-0 B LEFTWICH 2 1 0 0-0
M PITTMAN 1 1 0 0-0 R WHITE 1 1 0 0-0
G WHITE 0 0 2 0-0 C HOUSTON 0 0 1 0-0
R BARBER 0 0 0 0-1 K BROOKING 0 0 0 0-1
B KELLY 0 0 0 0-1 T MCCLURE 0 0 0 0-1
J BLALOCK 0 0 0 1-0

DEFENSE TK SO AS SK-YD DEFENSE TK SO AS SK-YD
------------------------------------ ------------------------------------
C JUNE 9 9 0 0-0 K BROOKING 8 5 3 0-0
P BUCHANON 7 7 0 0-0 M BOLEY 7 4 3 0-0
J HAYE 7 6 1 0-0 J BABINEAUX 5 5 0 0-0
D BROOKS 6 5 1 0-0 D WILLIAMS 5 3 2 0-0
C HOVAN 4 3 1 1-6 C CROCKER 4 4 0 0-0
R BARBER 4 3 1 0-0 D HALL 4 4 0 0-0
B RUUD 4 3 1 0-0 C DAVIS 3 3 0 0-0
J PHILLIPS 3 3 0 0-0 J ABRAHAM 2 2 0 1-5
G WHITE 2 2 0 2-6 L MILLOY 2 2 0 0-0
G ADAMS 2 2 0 1-7 C HOUSTON 2 2 0 0-0
B KELLY 2 2 0 0-0 J ANDERSON 1 1 0 0-0
T JACKSON 2 2 0 0-0 T LEWIS 1 0 1 0-0
W ALLEN 2 2 0 0-0
S DAVIS 2 1 1 0-0
P CHUKWURAH 1 1 0 0-0
K PEARSON 1 1 0 0-0
K CARTER 1 1 0 0-0

Att: 69,480</div>

 

By Phil Foley
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


ATLANTA (Ticker) - The Tampa Bay Buccaneers remained perfectagainst their divisional opponents.


Jeff Garcia threw two touchdown passes and Earnest Grahamrumbled for 102 yards and a score to lead the Buccaneers to a31-7 rout of the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.


The Buccaneers (6-4) now enjoy a two-game lead in the divisionafter the other three NFC South teams - the Carolina Panthers(4-6), New Orleans Saints (4-6) and Falcons (3-7) - lost onSunday.


Garcia, Graham and the Tampa Bay defense quickly dimmed anyAtlanta hopes of sneaking into the playoffs.


Garcia, who completed 10-of-20 passes for 159 yards and twotouchdowns, found a wide-open Joey Galloway down the leftsideline for a 44-yard touchdown reception to open the scoringwith 7:43 remaining in the first quarter.


Tampa Bay extended the lead thanks its defense, which batteredthe Falcons' offense all night, sacking Atlanta's quarterbacksfour times and forcing five turnovers.


Greg White defense forced a fumble by Byron Leftwich that led toTampa's second score with 10:42 remaining in the secondquarter. Cornerback Ronde Barber recovered the loose ball andscampered 41 yards into the end zone to give the Bucs a 14-0advantage.


Chris Hovan intercepted Leftwich at the Falcons 27 to set upTampa's next score, when Garcia found Alex Smith for a 21-yardtouchdown pass with 4:43 remaining before Graham rumbled for 26yards on the first play from scrimmage in the fourth quarter tocap the scoring.


Leftwich made the start at quarterback in place of JoeyHarrington, despite the fact that Harrington had rallied theFalcons to two straight victories.


The 27-year-old Leftwich was battered and bruised by theferocious Tampa Bay defense, completing just 15-of-28 passes for106 yards with two interceptions.


Harrington relieved Leftwich and completed 16-of-20 passes for139 yards, including a 7-yard TD strike to Laurent Robinson with1:10 remaining, but it was too little, too late.


In a testament to the mediocrity of the NFC South, both clubsendured an embarrassing stretch in the second quarter.

On 3rd-and-7 from the Falcons 41, Leftwich found White down themiddle. But Cato June forced White to cough up the football.Brian Kelly recovered the ball and inexplicably lateraled itback to June, who in turn fumbled the ball after he was trippedup by White at the Falcons 42.


Atlanta was unable to capitalize, and saw its drive sputter atthe Buccaneers 46 as the unfamiliar chants of "Joey, Joey, Joey"erupted from the restless Georgia Dome crowd.


Tampa did not do much better on its ensuing possession. Drivinginto Falcons territory, Garcia called a timeout that he did nothave on 3rd-and-5 from the Falcons 40, essentiallyextinguishing the drive after a five-yard penalty.

Matt Bryant added a field goal for the Buccaneers, who snapped atwo-game losing streak against the Falcons.

 

NFL: TAMPA BAY at ATLANTA

<div class="pre">NFL FINAL 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
TAMPA BAY 7 7 10 7 31
ATLANTA 0 0 0 7 7 FINAL

SCORING SUMMARY

1ST QUARTER:

7:17 TAM - TD, JOEY GALLOWAY 44 YD PASS FROM JEFF GARCIA (MATT BRYANT KICK).
Drive: 3 plays, 72 yards in 1:02.
Key plays: Ruud 5-yard interception return to Tampa Bay 28; Garcia
7-yard pass to Smith plus 15-yard roughing the passer penalty on Falcons'
Abraham to Atlanta 44. TAMPA BAY 7-0.

2ND QUARTER:

4:18 TAM - TD, RONDE BARBER 41 YD FUMBLE RETURN (MATT BRYANT KICK).
TAMPA BAY 14-0.

3RD QUARTER:

8:25 TAM - FG, MATT BRYANT 23 YD.
Drive: 8 plays, 49 yards in 3:22.
Key plays: Tampa Bay takes over on downs at Tampa Bay 46; Garcia
19-yard pass to Galloway to Atlanta 35; Graham 11-yard run to Atlanta 9.
TAMPA BAY 17-0.
10:09 TAM - TD, ALEX SMITH 21 YD PASS FROM JEFF GARCIA (MATT BRYANT KICK).
Drive: 3 plays, 27 yards in 1:29.
Key plays: Hovan 3-yard interception return to Atlanta 27. TAMPA BAY
24-0.

4TH QUARTER:

0:07 TAM - TD, EARNEST GRAHAM 26 YD RUN (MATT BRYANT KICK).
Drive: 6 plays, 45 yards in 3:39.
Key plays: Koenen 24-yard punt to Atlanta 45; Garcia 6-yard pass to
Graham on 3rd-and-4 to Atlanta 33. TAMPA BAY 31-0.
13:50 ATL - TD, ADAM JENNINGS 7 YD PASS FROM JOEY HARRINGTON (MORTEN ANDERSEN KICK).
Drive: 13 plays, 82 yards in 5:15.
Key plays: Harrington 11-yard pass to Jenkins on 3rd-and-10 to
Atlanta 29; Harrington 11-yard pass to White to Tampa Bay 41; Harrington
10-yard pass to White to Tampa Bay 38; Harrington 33-yard pass to Robinson
on 3rd-and-7 to Tampa Bay 5. TAMPA BAY 31-7.

TAMPA BAY - ATLANTA Final Statistics

TEAM STATISTICS TAMPA BAY ATLANTA

FIRST DOWNS 15 15
Rushing 5 3
Passing 7 11
Penalty 3 1
THIRD DOWN EFFICIENCY 3-10-30% 5-16-31%
FOURTH DOWN EFFICIENCY 0-1-0% 0-2-0%
TOTAL NET YARDS 305 275
Total offensive plays 53 71
Average gain per play 5.8 3.9
NET YARDS RUSHING 149 49
Rushing attempts 31 19
Average gain per rush 4.8 2.6
Tackles for loss-yards 1-1 3-3
NET YARDS PASSING 156 226
Times sacked: Number-Yards 1-5 4-19
Gross passing yards 161 245
PASS ATTEMPTS-COMPLETIONS-HAD INTERCEPTED 21-11-0 48-31-2
Avg gain per pass play 7.1 4.3
KICKOFFS: Number-In End Zone-Touchbacks 6-0-0 2-1-0
PUNTS: Number and Average 5-42.2 7-36.7
Had blocked 0 0
Net punting average 41.6 34.6
TOTAL RETURN YARDAGE (Not including kickoffs) 11 15
Number-Yards: Punt Returns 3-3 4-15
Number-Yards: Kickoff Returns 2-20 6-118
Number-Yards: Interception Returns 2-8 0-0
PENALTIES: Number-Yards 6-45 11-105
FUMBLES: Number-Lost 2-2 3-2
TOUCHDOWNS 4 1
Rushing 1 0
Passing 2 1
Interceptions 0 0
Other (blocked kicks, etc.) 1 0
EXTRA POINTS: Made-Attempts 4-4 1-1
Kicking: Made-Attempts 4-4 1-1
Passing: Made-Attempts 0-0 0-0
Rushing: Made-Attempts 0-0 0-0
FIELD GOALS: Made-Attempts 1-1 0-0
FGs - PATs had blocked 0-0 0-0
RED ZONE EFFICIENCY 0-1-0% 1-1-100%
GOAL TO GO EFFICIENCY 0-1-0% 1-1-100%
SAFETIES 0 0
TIME OF POSSESSION 27:26 32:34


INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

TAMPA BAY ATLANTA

RUSHING ATT YDS AVG LG TD RUSHING ATT YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
E GRAHAM 17 102 6.0 26 1 W DUNN 15 32 2.1 6 0
M PITTMAN 10 44 4.4 21 0 J SNELLING 2 13 6.5 7 0
J GARCIA 2 5 2.5 6 0 J NORWOOD 2 4 2.0 5 0
B GRADKOWS 2 -2 -1.0 0 0

PASSING CM-AT-YDS IN TD LG PASSING CM-AT-YDS IN TD LG
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
J GARCIA 10-20-159 0 2 44 J HARRINGT 16-20-139 0 1 33
B GRADKOWS 1- 1- 2 0 0 2 B LEFTWICH 15-28-106 2 0 14

Sacked-Yards Lost: J GARCIA 1-5. Sacked-Yards Lost: B LEFTWICH 3-12,
J HARRINGT 1-7.

RECEIVING NO YDS AVG LG TD RECEIVING NO YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
A SMITH 3 51 17.0 23 1 M JENKINS 9 73 8.1 14 0
J GALLOWAY 2 63 31.5 44 1 W DUNN 8 40 5.0 9 0
M PITTMAN 2 17 8.5 11 0 R WHITE 4 28 7.0 11 0
I HILLIARD 1 14 14.0 14 0 A CRUMPLER 3 28 9.3 12 0
B ASKEW 1 8 8.0 8 0 L ROBINSON 2 43 21.5 33 0
E GRAHAM 1 6 6.0 6 0 A JENNINGS 2 11 5.5 7 1
B STORER 1 2 2.0 2 0 J NORWOOD 2 10 5.0 8 0
O MUGHELLI 1 12 12.0 12 0

INTERCEPTIONS NO YDS AVG LG TD INTERCEPTIONS NO YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
B RUUD 1 5 5.0 5 0
C HOVAN 1 3 3.0 3 0

PUNTING NO YDS AVG T I LG PUNTING NO YDS AVG T I LG
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
J BIDWELL 5 211 42.2 0 3 61 M KOENEN 7 257 36.7 1 4 47

T = Touchbacks, I = Inside 20

PUNT RETURNS NO YDS AVG LG TD PUNT RETURNS NO YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
P BUCHANON 3 3 1.0 7 0 A JENNINGS 3 14 4.7 7 0
A HARRIS 1 1 1.0 1 0

KICKOFF RETURNS NO YDS AVG LG TD KICKOFF RETURNS NO YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
M SPURLOCK 1 21 21.0 21 0 J NORWOOD 5 110 22.0 27 0
P BUCHANON 1 -1 -1.0 0 0 J BABINEAUX 1 8 8.0 8 0

KICKING XP/XPA FG/FGA KICKING XP/XPA FG/FGA
---------------------------------- ----------------------------------
M BRYANT 4/4 1/1 M ANDERSEN 1/1 0/0
Dist.: 23

O-D O-D
FUMBLES NO LOST FF REC FUMBLES NO LOST FF REC
------------------------------------ ------------------------------------
C JUNE 1 1 1 0-0 B LEFTWICH 2 1 0 0-0
M PITTMAN 1 1 0 0-0 R WHITE 1 1 0 0-0
G WHITE 0 0 2 0-0 C HOUSTON 0 0 1 0-0
R BARBER 0 0 0 0-1 K BROOKING 0 0 0 0-1
B KELLY 0 0 0 0-1 T MCCLURE 0 0 0 0-1
J BLALOCK 0 0 0 1-0

DEFENSE TK SO AS SK-YD DEFENSE TK SO AS SK-YD
------------------------------------ ------------------------------------
C JUNE 9 9 0 0-0 K BROOKING 8 5 3 0-0
P BUCHANON 7 7 0 0-0 M BOLEY 7 4 3 0-0
J HAYE 7 6 1 0-0 J BABINEAUX 5 5 0 0-0
D BROOKS 6 5 1 0-0 D WILLIAMS 5 3 2 0-0
C HOVAN 4 3 1 1-6 C CROCKER 4 4 0 0-0
R BARBER 4 3 1 0-0 D HALL 4 4 0 0-0
B RUUD 4 3 1 0-0 C DAVIS 3 3 0 0-0
J PHILLIPS 3 3 0 0-0 J ABRAHAM 2 2 0 1-5
G WHITE 2 2 0 2-6 L MILLOY 2 2 0 0-0
G ADAMS 2 2 0 1-7 C HOUSTON 2 2 0 0-0
B KELLY 2 2 0 0-0 J ANDERSON 1 1 0 0-0
T JACKSON 2 2 0 0-0 T LEWIS 1 0 1 0-0
W ALLEN 2 2 0 0-0
S DAVIS 2 1 1 0-0
P CHUKWURAH 1 1 0 0-0
K PEARSON 1 1 0 0-0
K CARTER 1 1 0 0-0

Officials: Referee-Walt Coleman, Umpire-Jeff Rice, Head Linesman-Wayne
Mackie, Line Judge-Ron Phares, Field Judge-Steve Zimmer, Side
Judge-David Wyant, Back Judge-Richard Reels.

Att: 69,480 Time of Game: 3:18</div>

 

NFL: TAMPA BAY at ATLANTA

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
NFL
TAMPA BAY 31
ATLANTA 7 FINAL</div>

 

By Phil Foley
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


ATLANTA (Ticker) - The Tampa Bay Buccaneers remained perfectagainst their divisional opponents.


Jeff Garcia threw two touchdown passes and Earnest Grahamrumbled for 102 yards and a score to lead the Buccaneers to a31-7 rout of the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.


The Buccaneers (6-4) now enjoy a two-game lead in the divisionafter the other three NFC South teams - the Carolina Panthers(4-6), New Orleans Saints (4-6) and Falcons (3-7) - lost onSunday.


"It's November," Buccaneers cornerback Ronde Barber said. "It'stime to start playing. It's when your players have to startmaking plays for the (playoff push)."


Garcia, Graham and the Tampa Bay defense quickly dimmed anyAtlanta hopes of sneaking into the playoffs.


Garcia, who completed 10-of-20 passes for 159 yards and twotouchdowns, found a wide-open Joey Galloway down the leftsideline for a 44-yard touchdown reception to open the scoringwith 7:43 remaining in the first quarter.


"(Falcons cornerback) DeAngelo (Hall) broke on the pump fake andJoey went by him," Garcia said. "Once he got the ball in hishands, I don't think anyone is going to catch him."

Tampa Bay extended the lead thanks its defense, which batteredthe Falcons' offense all night, sacking Atlanta's quarterbacksfour times and forcing five turnovers.


Greg White defense forced a fumble by Byron Leftwich that led toTampa's second score with 10:42 remaining in the secondquarter. Cornerback Ronde Barber recovered the loose ball andscampered 41 yards into the end zone to give the Bucs a 14-0advantage.


"The scoop and score by Ronde was a turning point in the game,no question about it," Tampa Bay coach Jon Gruden said. "I wasvery happy to see that."


It was the first defensive touchdown of the year for theBuccaneers, who found the end zone three times on defense lastseason.


"It's what defines us," Barber said. "That's what gooddefensive teams do. Good defenses get interceptions, forcefumbles and score."


"This is something that has been known about the Buccaneers'defense for years," Garcia added. "Finally, we got one."

Chris Hovan intercepted Leftwich at the Falcons 27 to set upTampa's next score, when Garcia found Alex Smith for a 21-yardtouchdown pass with 4:43 remaining before Graham rumbled for 26yards on the first play from scrimmage in the fourth quarter tocap the scoring.


Leftwich made the start at quarterback in place of JoeyHarrington, despite the fact that Harrington had rallied theFalcons to two straight victories.


The 27-year-old Leftwich was battered and bruised by theferocious Tampa Bay defense, completing just 15-of-28 passes for106 yards with two interceptions.


The quarterback switch came as a welcome surprise for the TampaBay defense, which prepared for Harrington in practice thisweek.


Given the benefit of facing the less mobile Leftwich, theferocious Tampa Bay defense, pestered the former first-roundpick all afternoon. He completed just 15-of-28 passes for 106yards with two interceptions.


"I knew we were going to get an extra half second withLeftwich's release," Hovan said. "We took advantage of it.""My performance was poor and I will look over things that Ididn't do well," Leftwich said. "As the quarterback of thisteam, I have to set the precedent and put numbers on the board.I just didn't get it done."


Harrington relieved Leftwich and completed 16-of-20 passes for139 yards, including a 7-yard TD strike to Laurent Robinson with1:10 remaining, but it was too little, too late.


Leftwich's performance added to the quarterback controversy inAtlanta, which is still struggling at that position since thesuspension of Michael Vick. Falcons coach Bobby Petrino refusedto name his starter for the Falcons' contest against thedefending Super Bowl champion Indianapolis Colts on Thanksgivingnight.


"We have to evaluate the video from today and see who gives usthe best opportunity as a team to win the game," Petrino said."I can not tell you when that decision is going to be made rightnow."


In a testament to the mediocrity of the NFC South, both clubsendured an embarrassing stretch in the second quarter.

On 3rd-and-7 from the Falcons 41, Leftwich found White down themiddle. But Cato June forced White to cough up the football.Brian Kelly recovered the ball and inexplicably lateraled itback to June, who in turn fumbled the ball after he was trippedup by White at the Falcons 42.


Atlanta was unable to capitalize, and saw its drive sputter atthe Buccaneers 46 as the unfamiliar chants of "Joey, Joey, Joey"erupted from the restless Georgia Dome crowd.


"I wanted to let Byron come out of the locker room and see if hecould get anything going," Petrino said. "We felt that withthe way he practiced and moved around that he should start. Idon't think you can put all the blame on the quarterback."

Tampa did not do much better on its ensuing possession. Drivinginto Falcons territory, Garcia called a timeout that he did nothave on 3rd-and-5 from the Falcons 40, essentiallyextinguishing the drive after a five-yard penalty.

Matt Bryant added a field goal for the Buccaneers, who improvedto 3-0 against NFC South opponents this season.

 

NFL: TAMPA BAY at ATLANTA

<div class="pre">NFL FINAL 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
TAMPA BAY 7 7 10 7 31
ATLANTA 0 0 0 7 7 FINAL

SCORING SUMMARY

1ST QUARTER:

7:17 TAM - TD, JOEY GALLOWAY 44 YD PASS FROM JEFF GARCIA (MATT BRYANT KICK).
Drive: 3 plays, 72 yards in 1:02.
Key plays: Ruud 5-yard interception return to Tampa Bay 28; Garcia
7-yard pass to Smith plus 15-yard roughing the passer penalty on Falcons'
Abraham to Atlanta 44. TAMPA BAY 7-0.

2ND QUARTER:

4:18 TAM - TD, RONDE BARBER 41 YD FUMBLE RETURN (MATT BRYANT KICK).
TAMPA BAY 14-0.

3RD QUARTER:

8:25 TAM - FG, MATT BRYANT 23 YD.
Drive: 8 plays, 49 yards in 3:22.
Key plays: Tampa Bay takes over on downs at Tampa Bay 46; Garcia
19-yard pass to Galloway to Atlanta 35; Graham 11-yard run to Atlanta 9.
TAMPA BAY 17-0.
10:09 TAM - TD, ALEX SMITH 21 YD PASS FROM JEFF GARCIA (MATT BRYANT KICK).
Drive: 3 plays, 27 yards in 1:29.
Key plays: Hovan 3-yard interception return to Atlanta 27. TAMPA BAY
24-0.

4TH QUARTER:

0:07 TAM - TD, EARNEST GRAHAM 26 YD RUN (MATT BRYANT KICK).
Drive: 6 plays, 45 yards in 3:39.
Key plays: Koenen 24-yard punt to Atlanta 45; Garcia 6-yard pass to
Graham on 3rd-and-4 to Atlanta 33. TAMPA BAY 31-0.
13:50 ATL - TD, ADAM JENNINGS 7 YD PASS FROM JOEY HARRINGTON (MORTEN ANDERSEN KICK).
Drive: 13 plays, 82 yards in 5:15.
Key plays: Harrington 11-yard pass to Jenkins on 3rd-and-10 to
Atlanta 29; Harrington 11-yard pass to White to Tampa Bay 41; Harrington
10-yard pass to White to Tampa Bay 38; Harrington 33-yard pass to Robinson
on 3rd-and-7 to Tampa Bay 5. TAMPA BAY 31-7.

TAMPA BAY - ATLANTA Final Statistics

TEAM STATISTICS TAMPA BAY ATLANTA

FIRST DOWNS 15 15
Rushing 5 3
Passing 7 11
Penalty 3 1
THIRD DOWN EFFICIENCY 3-10-30% 5-16-31%
FOURTH DOWN EFFICIENCY 0-1-0% 0-2-0%
TOTAL NET YARDS 305 265
Total offensive plays 53 71
Average gain per play 5.8 3.7
NET YARDS RUSHING 149 49
Rushing attempts 31 19
Average gain per rush 4.8 2.6
Tackles for loss-yards 1-1 3-3
NET YARDS PASSING 156 216
Times sacked: Number-Yards 1-5 5-29
Gross passing yards 161 245
PASS ATTEMPTS-COMPLETIONS-HAD INTERCEPTED 21-11-0 47-31-1
Avg gain per pass play 7.1 4.2
KICKOFFS: Number-In End Zone-Touchbacks 6-0-0 2-1-0
PUNTS: Number and Average 5-42.2 7-36.7
Had blocked 0 0
Net punting average 41.6 34.6
TOTAL RETURN YARDAGE (Not including kickoffs) 8 15
Number-Yards: Punt Returns 3-3 4-15
Number-Yards: Kickoff Returns 2-20 6-118
Number-Yards: Interception Returns 1-5 0-0
PENALTIES: Number-Yards 6-45 11-105
FUMBLES: Number-Lost 2-2 4-3
TOUCHDOWNS 4 1
Rushing 1 0
Passing 2 1
Interceptions 0 0
Other (blocked kicks, etc.) 1 0
EXTRA POINTS: Made-Attempts 4-4 1-1
Kicking: Made-Attempts 4-4 1-1
Passing: Made-Attempts 0-0 0-0
Rushing: Made-Attempts 0-0 0-0
FIELD GOALS: Made-Attempts 1-1 0-0
FGs - PATs had blocked 0-0 0-0
RED ZONE EFFICIENCY 0-1-0% 1-1-100%
GOAL TO GO EFFICIENCY 0-1-0% 1-1-100%
SAFETIES 0 0
TIME OF POSSESSION 27:26 32:34


INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

TAMPA BAY ATLANTA

RUSHING ATT YDS AVG LG TD RUSHING ATT YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
E GRAHAM 17 102 6.0 26 1 W DUNN 15 32 2.1 6 0
M PITTMAN 10 44 4.4 21 0 J SNELLING 2 13 6.5 7 0
J GARCIA 2 5 2.5 6 0 J NORWOOD 2 4 2.0 5 0
B GRADKOWS 2 -2 -1.0 0 0

PASSING CM-AT-YDS IN TD LG PASSING CM-AT-YDS IN TD LG
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
J GARCIA 10-20-159 0 2 44 J HARRINGT 16-20-139 0 1 33
B GRADKOWS 1- 1- 2 0 0 2 B LEFTWICH 15-27-106 1 0 14

Sacked-Yards Lost: J GARCIA 1-5. Sacked-Yards Lost: B LEFTWICH 4-22,
J HARRINGT 1-7.

RECEIVING NO YDS AVG LG TD RECEIVING NO YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
A SMITH 3 51 17.0 23 1 M JENKINS 9 73 8.1 14 0
J GALLOWAY 2 63 31.5 44 1 W DUNN 8 40 5.0 9 0
M PITTMAN 2 17 8.5 11 0 R WHITE 4 28 7.0 11 0
I HILLIARD 1 14 14.0 14 0 A CRUMPLER 3 28 9.3 12 0
B ASKEW 1 8 8.0 8 0 L ROBINSON 2 43 21.5 33 0
E GRAHAM 1 6 6.0 6 0 A JENNINGS 2 11 5.5 7 1
B STORER 1 2 2.0 2 0 J NORWOOD 2 10 5.0 8 0
O MUGHELLI 1 12 12.0 12 0

INTERCEPTIONS NO YDS AVG LG TD INTERCEPTIONS NO YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
B RUUD 1 5 5.0 5 0

PUNTING NO YDS AVG T I LG PUNTING NO YDS AVG T I LG
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
J BIDWELL 5 211 42.2 0 3 61 M KOENEN 7 257 36.7 1 4 47

T = Touchbacks, I = Inside 20

PUNT RETURNS NO YDS AVG LG TD PUNT RETURNS NO YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
P BUCHANON 3 3 1.0 7 0 A JENNINGS 3 14 4.7 7 0
A HARRIS 1 1 1.0 1 0

KICKOFF RETURNS NO YDS AVG LG TD KICKOFF RETURNS NO YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
M SPURLOCK 1 21 21.0 21 0 J NORWOOD 5 110 22.0 27 0
P BUCHANON 1 -1 -1.0 0 0 J BABINEAUX 1 8 8.0 8 0

KICKING XP/XPA FG/FGA KICKING XP/XPA FG/FGA
---------------------------------- ----------------------------------
M BRYANT 4/4 1/1 M ANDERSEN 1/1 0/0
Dist.: 23

O-D O-D
FUMBLES NO LOST FF REC FUMBLES NO LOST FF REC
------------------------------------ ------------------------------------
C JUNE 1 1 1 0-0 B LEFTWICH 3 2 0 0-0
M PITTMAN 1 1 0 0-0 R WHITE 1 1 0 0-0
G WHITE 0 0 2 0-0 C HOUSTON 0 0 1 0-0
G ADAMS 0 0 1 0-0 K BROOKING 0 0 0 0-1
R BARBER 0 0 0 0-1 T MCCLURE 0 0 0 0-1
B KELLY 0 0 0 0-1 J BLALOCK 0 0 0 1-0
C HOVAN 0 0 0 0-1

DEFENSE TK SO AS SK-YD DEFENSE TK SO AS SK-YD
------------------------------------ ------------------------------------
C JUNE 9 9 0 0-0 K BROOKING 8 5 3 0-0
P BUCHANON 7 7 0 0-0 M BOLEY 7 4 3 0-0
J HAYE 7 6 1 0-0 J BABINEAUX 5 5 0 0-0
D BROOKS 6 5 1 0-0 D WILLIAMS 5 3 2 0-0
C HOVAN 4 3 1 1-6 C CROCKER 4 4 0 0-0
R BARBER 4 3 1 0-0 D HALL 4 4 0 0-0
B RUUD 4 3 1 0-0 C DAVIS 3 3 0 0-0
G ADAMS 3 3 0 2-17 J ABRAHAM 2 2 0 1-5
J PHILLIPS 3 3 0 0-0 L MILLOY 2 2 0 0-0
G WHITE 2 2 0 2-6 C HOUSTON 2 2 0 0-0
B KELLY 2 2 0 0-0 J ANDERSON 1 1 0 0-0
T JACKSON 2 2 0 0-0 T LEWIS 1 0 1 0-0
W ALLEN 2 2 0 0-0
S DAVIS 2 1 1 0-0
P CHUKWURAH 1 1 0 0-0
K PEARSON 1 1 0 0-0
K CARTER 1 1 0 0-0

Officials: Referee-Walt Coleman, Umpire-Jeff Rice, Head Linesman-Wayne
Mackie, Line Judge-Ron Phares, Field Judge-Steve Zimmer, Side
Judge-David Wyant, Back Judge-Richard Reels.

Att: 69,480 Time of Game: 3:18</div>

 

NFL: TAMPA BAY at ATLANTA

<div class="pre">NFL TAMPA BAY AT ATLANTA
NOTE: RESENDING TO CORRECT PASSING STATS AND FUMBLES FOR
LEFTWICH, SACKS AND FORCED FUMBLES FOR ADAMS AND
FUMBLE RECOVERIES AND INTERCEPTIONS FOR HOVAN.</div>