The Falcons can forget about positive momentum going into the playoffs. Not only did they lose 22-17 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday in what was essentially a meaningless game, but because of coach Mike Smith’s insistence on leaving the starters in, two regulars left the game with injuries and didn’t return.
Cornerback Dunta Robinson was forced to leave with a head injury early in the first half after a head-on tackle with Tampa Bay running back Doug Martin. Early in the fourth quarter, defensive end John Abraham, the team’s leader with 10 sacks, hobbled off the field and was eventually carted to the locker room after DL Peria Jerry fell on his back while Abraham’s left ankle was tucked beneath his body.
The injuries overshadowed what was an ugly all-around performance from the Falcons (13-3). Atlanta had a punt blocked, converted just 3 of 14 third downs, and the offensive line was terrible, exposing Ryan to two sacks, five quarterback hurries and a few brutal hits. Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman picked apart Atlanta's soft coverage, throwing for 222 yards and a touchdown.
Martin exposed the Falcons’ shoddy tackling with 142 yards on 28 carries, including a 40-yard touchdown where he spun out of tackles from DBs Chris Hope and Thomas DeCoud. His score gave Tampa Bay (7-9) a 22-10 lead late in the third quarter.
Atlanta’s starters likely wouldn’t have been in the game so late were it not for Asante Samuel’s interception with just over four minutes left in the third. His third interception in as many games gave the Falcons possession at the 21-yard line, and RB Michael Turner rushed 17 yards up the seam for Atlanta’s first touchdown.
A fourth-quarter TD pass from Ryan to Harry Douglas cut the deficit to five, but it wasn’t enough to overcome a lifeless first half where Falcons players didn’t seem intent on competing.
When the game turned: Martin’s 40-yard rush came on the heels of Samuel’s interception and all but closed the door on another Falcons comeback. He averaged 5.1 yards per carry throughout the day and was rarely brought down off first contact.
Highlight moments:
Freeman faked a pitch midway through the second quarter and with all the attention on Martin, he found TE Luke Stocker wide open along the left sideline; Stocker took it 26 yards to Atlanta’s 23-yard line. It was the key play in Tampa Bay’s first scoring drive. ...On the ensuing Falcons drive, Atlanta’s offense stalled deep inside its own territory, and LB Dekoda Watson drove TE Michael Palmer backward on the Atlanta punt and into Matt Bosher’s range. The punt deflected off Palmer’s helmet and ricocheted out of bounds at Atlanta’s 25. ...On the third-quarter interception, Samuel read Freeman perfectly and jumped the pass intended for Tiquan Underwood. At that point, Atlanta was trailing 16-3 and had absolutely no momentum whatsoever.
Top-shelf performances:
- Tampa Bay’s Martin: 28 carries for 142 yards and a touchdown, four catches for 18 yards
- Tampa Bay LB Lavonte David: six tackles, one sack, two QB hits
- Tampa Bay K Connor Barth: 3 for 3 on FG attempts, including a 48 yarder
- Atlanta RB Jacquizz Rodgers: Five carries for 28 yards, eight catches for 50 yards
- Atlanta P Matt Bosher: Six punts for an average of 50.8 ypp. Three fell inside the 20-yard line.
What they said about the injuries:
- Smith on Abraham's ankle: “Early reports are that it’s minor. We’re not overly concerned."
- Smith on Robinson's injury: "Dunta, I think, will be fine. We have two weeks. ... I don't know exactly if they're calling it a concussion."
What they said about Falcons starters playing the whole game:
- Smith: "To go out there and not play your best and not try to win is counterintuitive to guys in that locker room and it's counterintuitive to us as coaches. I know that there are different philosophies with that and it flips back and forth, but we're paid to go out and try to win football games."
- Ryan: “That’s part of being a professional. I don’t think anybody would tell you we did a good enough job of that this week.”
- Bucs coach Greg Schiano: "I'm glad they [played their starters the whole game] but that's their businesses and I'm not commenting on that. I'm glad they did because I think our whole football team wanted to play their team."
