Live updates: Bucs beat Falcons, take over sole possession of first place

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Leonard Fournette scored two touchdowns and Tom Brady passed for more than 350 yards as the Bucs held off the Falcons 21-15 Sunday at Raymond James Stadium to take over sole possession of first place in the NFC South.

Fournette had a 1-yard touchdown run and a 1-yard scoring reception. Ryan Succop added field goals of 21 and 44 yards for Tampa Bay (3-2), which won at home for the first time this season.

Atlanta (2-3), which fell behind 21-0, scored twice in the fourth quarter to trim its deficit to six before falling for the first time in three weeks.

The Falcons appeared to get a huge stop when Grady Jarrett sacked Brady on third down with just under three minutes left, but Jarrett was called for roughing the passer, giving the Bucs a first down. Tampa Bay picked up another first down, forcing Atlanta to use up its timeouts, then ran out the clock.

Brady completed 35 of 52 passes for 351 yards and a touchdown. With wide receiver Julio Jones sidelined by a knee injury, Brady targeted eight different receivers, including two running backs and two tight ends, and connected with seven of them.

Fournette was his top target, with 10 catches for 83 yards and a score. Fournette also picked up 56 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries.

Five different Bucs sacked Falcons quarterback Marcus Mariota: Antoine Winfield Jr., Deadrin Senat, Logan Hall, Vita Vea and Joe Tryon-Shoyinka.

Bucs cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting left the game with a quad injury. Fellow corner Carlton Davis sustained a hip injury.

Here’s how it happened:

Late push

After their defense forced a three-and-out, the Falcons finally got on the scoreboard early in the fourth quarter.

Avery Williams returned Jake Camarda’s punt 28 yards, setting up Atlanta at the Tampa Bay 43. Caleb Huntley rushed 22 yards up the middle, moving the ball to the 21. A neutral-zone infraction against Rakeem Nunez-Roches advanced the ball 5 more yards to the 16.

Four runs picked up 8 yards before the guy who started the drive finished it off, as Williams went 8 yards around right end to score his first NFL rushing touchdown.

The score trimmed Atlanta’s deficit to 21-7 with 13:39 to remaining in the game.

After forcing two more Tampa Bay punts, a 19-yard scoring pass from Marcus Mariota to Olamide Zaccheaus
trimmed the Falcons’ deficit to 21-15 with 4:38 still to play.

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The Falcons appeared to get another stop when Grady Jarrett sacked Tom Brady on third down with just under three minutes left, but Jarrett was called for roughing the passer, giving the Bucs a first down.

Tampa Bay picked up another first down, forcing Atlanta to use up its timesouts, then ran out the clock.

Exerting their will

Leonard Fournette took the play to the Falcons during a mid-third-quarter touchdown drive.

On successive plays, the running back took short passes from Tom Brady and ran over would-be tacklers for a combined 19 yards, advancing the ball to the Bucs 47-yard line.

After Dee Alford broke up a deep pass for Mike Evans down the left sideline, Rachaad White kept the drive alive with a 2-yard run up the middle to the Falcons 41 on third-and-1.

Brady went back to Evans on a comeback route on the next play, resulting in a 40-yard gain to the Falcons 1.

A rollout pass from Brady to Fournette one play later put the Bucs in the end zone. Brady then hit Russell Gage over the middle on a two-point conversion pass, putting Tampa Bay ahead 21-0 with just over six minutes remaining in the third quarter.

Taking their chances

Down by 13 points early in the third quarter, the Falcons took a big gamble by going for it on fourth-and-1 from their 27-yard line.

It worked out, as Marcus Mariota plunged over left guard for 3 yards and a first down at the 30.

But Atlanta went backwards from there, as Devin White and Will Gholston combined to drop Caleb Huntley for a 1-yard loss, and Deadrin Senat sacked Mariota for a 6-yard loss, setting up third-and-17 from the 23.

A pass from Mariota to KhaDarel Hodge gained 13 yards, but the Falcons weren’t taking any chances on fourth-and 4 and punted the ball instead.

Momentum swing

The Falcons threatened late in the first half, after a 20-yard pass from Marcus Mariota to a wide-open Olamide Zaccheaus and a roughing-the-passer penalty on Vita Vea resulted in a 35-yard gain to the Bucs 25-yard line.

But KhaDarel Hodge dropped a swing pass with open field in front of him, and Antoine Winfield Jr. sacked Mariota on the next play, stripping the ball loose. Mariota recovered, but the play lost 9 yards.

Younghoe Koo’s 52-yard field goal attempt missed wide right, and the Falcons came away from their most promising drive of the game empty-handed.

Worse, Atlanta gave Tampa Bay possession at the Bucs 42 with time left on the clock. Two Tom Brady completions to running back Leonard Fournette gained 32 yards, moving the ball to the Atlanta 26.

Ryan Succop converted a 44-yard field goal as time expired, extending Tampa Bay’s lead to 13-0.

Going up-tempo

The Bucs picked up the pace on a late second-quarter field-goal drive.

Tom Brady got things started when he hit wide receiver Russell Gage in stride over the middle, and the former Falcon took the ball 14 yards to the Tampa Bay 27.

From there, it was classic Brady: 7 yards to tight end Cade Otton, 12 to receiver Scotty Miller, 12 to running back Rachaad White, 18 to wide receiver Chris Godwin, 7 to receiver Mike Evans.

After a false start penalty against Shaq Mason pushed Tampa Bay back 5 yards, Brady went back to Otton for 12 yards.

Just like that, the Bucs found themselves at the Falcons 10 at the two-minute warning.

But three plays gained just 7 yards, and Tampa Bay had to settle for a 21-yard Ryan Succop field goal and 10-0 lead with 1:21 left in the half.

Getting involved

Rookie tight end Cade Otton was a favorite Tom Brady target during an early second-quarter touchdown drive.

Otton caught two passes for 16 yards as the Bucs drove 88 yards in 13 plays to open the scoring. He had a 2-yard reception on an earlier drive.

A 7-yard pass over the middle to Otton moved the ball to the Tampa Bay 19. A 12-yard Otton reception later on the drive moved the Bucs to the Falcons 44.

In between, Rachaad White had a 7-yard run, a 9-yard catch over the middle and a 4-yard run on third-and-1, giving Tampa Bay a first down at its 39.

The Bucs took their first deep shot of the game on the drive, but cornerback Casey Hayward broke up a pass for Scotty Miller down the right sideline.

No matter. Mike Evans made a diving catch along the left sideline two plays later for a 25-yard gain to the Falcons 12. Evans was shaken up on the play and left the field.

After a holding penalty on rookie tight end Ko Kieft pushed the Bucs back to the 24, Brady found Miller for 12 yards on a curl route over the middle, then tossed the ball out to Godwin, who picked up 9 yards to the 1.

Fournette took it from there, bulling his way up the middle for a touchdown and a 7-0 Bucs lead with 9:31 remaining in the second quarter.

Stopped in their tracks

The Falcons were moving the ball late in the first quarter when a penalty brought everything to a screeching halt.

After Tyler Allgeier gained 17 yards to the Atlanta 31 and Marcus Mariota scrambled for 16 yards to the 48, Mariota hit wide receiver Drake London downfield for 25 yards and an apparent first down in Bucs territory.

But a holding penalty on center Drew Dalman erased the play and resulted in a 10-yard penalty, making it third-and-17. A 10-yard completion to receiver Bryan Edwards left the Falcons 7 yards short of the sticks, and they were forced to punt.

Higher ground

The Bucs went to the air on their second possession and drove deep into Falcons territory before turning the ball over on downs.

Outside of a 20-yard pass to Chris Godwin on an out route that moved the ball to the Atlanta 48, most of the throws were short.

But they were effective.

A flip to Leonard Fournette on the edge picked up 11 yards to the 37. Godwin pulled in a low throw and took it 5 yards to the 30.

Brady connected with Godwin over the middle for 6 yards and a first down to the 24. He hit Rachaad White out of the backfield for 7 yards to the 17.

On third-and-3, Brady found tight end Cade Otton over the middle for 2 yards, setting up fourth-and-1.

The Bucs went for the first down, but Fournette was stopped for no gain, resulting in a turnover on downs.

Backfield pass

Outside linebacker Joey Tryon-Shoyinka was a regular presence in the Falcons’ offensive backfield as the Bucs forced a punt on Atlanta’s opening possession.

Tryon-Shoyinka first blew up a Tyler Allgeier run around left end, and Antoine Winfield finished off the play for a 4-yard loss.

The Falcons picked up a first down on an 11-yard pass from Marcus Mariota to tight end Anthony Firkser to the Atlanta 32.

But after tight end Feleipe Franks dropped a pass that would have resulted in another first down at Mariota overthrew Damiere Byrd downfield, Tryon-shoyinka beat tackle Jake Matthews with a spin move and sacked Mariota.

Off the mark

The Bucs picked up a first down on their opening possession but had to punt.

Leonard Fournette ripped off a 14-yard run over left tackle on his first carry to give Tampa Bay a first down at its 33-yard line.

But after a 2-yard Fournette run up the middle, tight end Kyle Rudolph dropped a pass over the middle and then Tom Brady threw too high for Russell Gage, resulting in a Jake Camarda punt that went into the end zone for a touchback.

Going to ground

No Matt Ryan. No Russell Gage. No Julio Jones for a few years now. And, recently, no Cordarrelle Patterson.

And the Falcons have gotten better?

Believe it or not.

Atlanta’s 23-20 victory over Cleveland last weekend, coupled with Tampa Bay’s 41-31 loss to Kansas City, moved the Falcons into a tie for first place with the Bucs in the NFC South entering today’s game.

Granted, we’re only in the fifth week of a 17-game regular season. A lot can — and likely will — change.

But consider:

• Atlanta would be alone atop the division had it not blown a 16-point, fourth-quarter lead to New Orleans in a 27-26, opening-week loss.

• And the Falcons put a late scare into the defending Super Bowl champion Rams in Week 2 before falling 31-27.

They have done it with a rejuvenated run game that ranks fourth in the NFL at 168 yards per game after finishing 31st (85.4 yards per game) last season.

We only have to go back one week to see how much trouble a team that runs the ball successfully can create for the Bucs, as the Chiefs gashed them for 189 yards on the ground.

The Falcons appeared to be in a quandary at quarterback after they traded Ryan to the Colts in March while pursuing Deshaun Watson. When Watson was traded instead to the Browns, Atlanta settled for Marcus Mariota.

Mariota can create problems for defenses with his running ability, but he likely is a short-term solution whose tenure could become shorter if he doesn’t do a better job protecting the ball (seven turnovers). And he’s not much of a threat through the air, as his 76.9 passer rating (28th) indicates.

So, while Atlanta has outperformed expectations over the first month of the season, you have to wonder how long it can last.

There is a tremendous gap in talent between the Bucs and Falcons, even with the injuries to Tampa Bay’s receiving corps. Atlanta will quickly feel the loss of Patterson, its biggest offensive weapon before he was placed on injured reserve with a knee injury. And it’s only a matter of time before Mariota gives way to third-round pick Desmond Ridder.

There’s also regression to the mean to consider.

Atlanta has not had a winning season since 2017, averaging just six wins over the past four seasons, so it’s unlikely to keep pace with a Tampa Bay squad that averaged 12 wins in its first two seasons with Tom Brady under center.

Expect a considerably different storyline when these teams meet again in the regular-season finale Jan. 28 in Atlanta.

Who’s in/who’s out

Game day scene

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A little light reading

Here’s some of our content leading up to today’s game:

Ryan Succop is outkicking his reputation for limited field-goal distance

Bucs add Russell Gage to injury report, receiver depth again in question

Bucs’ Sean Murphy-Bunting proves he still can cover more than kicks

Bucs rediscover passing game in defeat against Chiefs

Bucs’ run game is an example of bad football

Falcons bring a diverse, dominant run game to matchup with Bucs

Bucs rookie Cade Otton forges ahead after sudden loss of his mother

Odell Beckham Jr. plans to visit Bucs on free-agent tour, Von Miller says

Todd Bowles away from Bucs for personal reasons, Tom Brady does not practice

Veteran receiver Cole Beasley retiring after 2 games with Bucs

NFL spotters concluded Bucs’ Cameron Brate was hit in the shoulder, not the head

The Bucs’ biggest challenge in the NFC South is the Falcons? What’s going on?

Tom Brady says concussion protocols should start with prevention

The Bucs might have a lot of star power, but they’re short on wins

How much can Julio Jones give the Bucs in 2022? ‘We’ll see,’ Todd Bowles said

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