After two 4th-quarter touchdown drives cut the Bucs' lead to 21-15, Grady Jarrett made a play to give the Falcons the ball back with 3:00 minutes left with a chance to drive down and win the ballgame, sacking Tom Brady on a 3rd & 5…or so we thought. A flag was thrown for ‘roughing’ the passer allowing Tampa to salt the game away with one final first down and the Falcons' comeback effort fell short.
While the officiating blunder at the end will dominate the conversation, and rightfully so, Atlanta didn’t do themselves any favors for the first three quarters of this NFC South matchup entering the final frame trailing 21-0. The Falcons—without TE Kyle Pitts (hamstring) and leading rusher Cordarrelle Patterson (knee-IR)—were stuck in the mud through three quarters with Marcus Mariota unable to find any success through the air and the running game was productive at times but couldn’t break through against a strong Tampa front.
At the same time, the Bucs were able to sustain long drives as they dinked and dunked their way down the field outside of a few deep shots to Mike Evans with Tom Brady throwing the ball 52 times, completing 35 of those attempts for 351 yards and a score—a goal line TD flip to Leonard Fournette on the Bucs only scoring drive in the 2nd half. Unable to run the ball with just 69 yards on the day, the Bucs used the underneath throws as a substitute which Atlanta couldn’t take away until the 4th quarter.
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Just like the Rams game, it was a special teams play that sparked the Falcons' comeback with a 28-yard punt return from Avery Williams setting Atlanta up in Tampa territory late in the 3rd quarter. Six plays later early in the 4th quarter, Williams would take it in himself to get the Falcons on the board for his first career touchdown. Minutes later, the Falcons would cap a 12-play, 70-yard drive with Mariota finding Olamide Zaccheaus for his second score of the season. Arthur Smith played the percentages and went for two with KhaDarel Hodge elevating for the reception in the back of the end zone. The Bucs took over with 4:38 left and the Falcons wouldn’t touch the ball again after a first down run by Fournette and the egregious ‘roughing’ call that set social media on fire.
Arthur Smith—likely saving himself a few bucks—didn’t comment on the flag postgame.
Like spaghetti and meatballs, the 2022 Falcons and down-to-the-wire finishes are seemingly a match made in heaven as all five of Atlanta’s games have been decided by one possession. In the locker room, head coach Arthur Smith told Dave Archer on 92.9 The Game that he’s proud of his team’s ability to keep swinging and that with this mentality, they’re never out of a game.
At 2-3, the Falcons are clearly a more competitive team than many in the national press gave them credit for in the offseason, but the first three-quarters of today’s game will surely invite conversation about the quarterback position. Mariota found his form in the 4th quarter but couldn’t move the offense early and finished with 14 completions on 25 attempts for 147 yards and a TD. He led the team on the ground with 61 yards on 7 carries with Tyler Allgeier, Caleb Huntley and Williams combing for 90 yards in Patterson’s absence. Rookie Drake London hauled in four passes for 35 yards while Zaccheaus’ 39 yards were a team-high. Does Atlanta win this game with more productivity from their signal caller early on? There’s no way to know that, but you can bet that those types of questions will be prominent in the coming days.
This one will sting for the Falcons, but they’ll have to put it behind them as they gear up for next Sunday’s meeting with the 49ers in front of their home crowd at Mercedes Benz Stadium. You’ll hear the best Falcons’ coverage and every game right here on 92.9 The Game!