Buccaneers vs. Falcons score, takeaways: Tom Brady, Tampa Bay hang on to top Falcons, end two-game skid

Brady improved to 11-0 in his career against the Falcons

Tom Brady kept alive two of his long-standing traditions -- avoiding three-game losing streaks and losses to the Atlanta Falcons -- as his Tampa Bay Buccaneers topping a wounded Falcons flock, 21-15, on Sunday. After consecutive losses, a close 14-12 defeat versus Aaron Rodgers' Green Bay Packers and an overwhelming 41-31 defeat against Patrick Mahomes' Kansas City Chiefs, Tampa Bay used Atlanta as its get-right game. 

The win ensures Brady's only losing streak of three or more games remains 20 years in the past, Weeks 4-8 in the 2002 season, his first as the New England Patriots' full-time starting quarterback. The 45-year-old improves to 11-0 against the Falcons, tied for the second-most wins without a loss for a quarterback against a single team in NFL history. Only Hall of Famer Otto Graham's 12-0 record versus the Cardinals is a more dominant such stretch against a single team than Brady's.  

After allowing more than 40 points a week ago against the Chiefs, just the third time Bowles' Tampa Bay defense had allowed more than 40 in a game and their first time doing so since 2019, they suffocated a Falcons offense missing two of its top two weapons, running back Cordarrelle Patterson (knee surgery) and tight end Kyle Pitts (knee injury), for three quarters. Atlanta entered Sunday as a top-five ground attack, averaging 168 rushing yards per game, fresh off totaling 202 in a Week 4 win against the Cleveland Browns. However, Bowles' defense kept the Falcons under their season average, 151 yards on 31 carries. 

Whenever Falcons quarterback Marcus Mariota dropped back to pass, it seemed like there were Buccaneers immediately arriving in the backfield, as the former second-overall draft pick was sacked five times while attempting 25 passes. He finished with 147 passing yards on 14-of-25 passing with a touchdown and no interceptions.  

The game overall was a bounce-back for the Buccaneers, but especially running back Leonard Fournette. Despite signing a three-year, $21 million extension this offseason, Fournette started the 2022 season slowly, with no rushing touchdowns and one garbage time, five-yard receiving touchdown against the Chiefs. His slow start ended in Week 5 with a season-high 139 scrimmage yards (56 rushing and 83 receiving), and two touchdowns, including his first rushing touchdown of 2022, and a career-high 10 receptions. 

However, the Falcons defense helped Atlanta claw back into the game late in the third quarter. They forced three consecutive punts in the drives following Brady's one-yard, play-action touchdown pass to Fournette that put the Buccaneers on top 21-0. A six-play touchdown march concluded after the sixth straight running play saw second-year running back Avery Williams score his first career rushing touchdown after the first of those three punts. 

After Mariota's 19-yard passing touchdown to wide receiver Olamide Zaccheus on a run-pass option and subsequent two-point conversion pass to wide receiver KhaDarel Hodge, Atlanta was back within a touchdown, trailing 21-15 with 4:38 to play. It appeared the Falcons were going to get a chance to take the lead with a little under three minutes left in the game after defensive tackle Grady Jarrett sacked Brady on third-and-five. The sack didn't stand for long as a controversial roughing the passer penalty ruled he used too much force in wrangling the 45-year-old to the ground. Brady picked up a first down in the next series of plays, icing the game. 

For a more detailed breakdown of how this game unfolded, stay tuned for our main takeaways.

Why the Buccaneers won

Tampa Bay dominated the first three quarters, racing out to a 21-0 lead with 6:09 left in the third. Todd Bowles' defense forced the Falcons to punt on five of their first six possessions as Marcus Mariota struggled mightily. The Falcons' quarterback threw for only 53 yards on 9-of-18 passing while being sacked four times in the first three quarters. That opening defensive dominance combined with Fournette's all-around production was enough to hold on to their initial three-touchdown advantage. 

Brady didn't have his sharpest performance, but 351 passing yards, one touchdown and no turnovers on 35-of-52 passing was the efficient performance that was needed. His ball security was clearly the focus after losing the football on a strip-sack against the Chiefs a week ago. Brady's Week 5 performance marks his second game in a row with over 350 passing yards after he put up 385 last week. Another positive development for the Buccaneers was the play of Chris Godwin. His return from a torn ACL has been touch-and-go: he missed Weeks 2-3 with a hamstring injury and exited the team's Week 1 win at the Dallas Cowboys early. This week, Godwin's performance was immaculate, catching all six of his targets for 61 yards and showing increased wiggle, especially on a nine-yard screen pass that he took down to the 1, which set up the first touchdown of the day, Fournette's one-yard score. 

Why the Falcons lost

The overarching reasons for Atlanta's close-but-not-quite comeback stems from their offensive inactivity in the first three quarters. Without Kyle Pitts to pull defenders away from Atlanta's eighth overall draft pick, rookie wide receiver Drake London, he had his second-lowest receiving yardage output of his young career, 35 yards on four catches. London's seven targets were the most Mariota looked anyone's way on Sunday. The Falcons' offense finally came to life in the fourth quarter, but only after their defense forced three quick Buccaneer punts that set Atlanta up in favorable starting field positions.

However, it's impossible for the Falcons to not play the what-if game after Grady Jarrett's third down sack appeared to give Atlanta the ball back down six points before the two-minute warning. The subsequent penalty on what appeared to be a clean, routine takedown of Brady for roughing the passer extinguished all hope for a Falcons rally. If Atlanta can get Pitts back next week or figure out how to generate easier ways to get London and their other pass-catchers the ball earlier in games, the Falcons will be a tough out for everyone they play going forward. 

Turning points

First half

Two critical sequences swung Sunday's game in favor of the Buccaneers, one at the end of each half. The first was an Antoine Winfield Jr. sack of Marcus Mariota with 37 seconds left that halted the Falcons' best possession of the first half, forcing them to settle for a 52-yard field goal two plays later. The usually dependable Younghoe Koo missed wide right, and two completions later from Brady to Fournette allowed their kicker Ryan Succop to push through a 44-yard field goal, making the halftime score 13-0. That entire sequence encompassed a six-point swing, the eventual margin of victory at the end of the game. 

Second half

The erasure of Jarrett's clutch third down sack of Brady courtesy of a roughing the passer penalty allowed for the Buccaneers to run the game clock down to triple zeroes. Each time the replay cycles through, the call appears more and more mystifying.

Play of the game

Mike Evans had a relatively quiet day for himself, four receptions for 81 receiving yards on eight targets. This catch for 24 yards on the Buccaneers' first touchdown drive was the chunk play they needed to break into the Falcons' red zone. The full extension to secure the football in-between two defenders illustrated why he has been one of the NFL's most unguardable targets since he entered the league in 2014. 

What's next

From here, the Buccaneers will head north for their first of two road games, facing rookie Kenny Pickett and the Pittsburgh Steelers. This matchup will serve as one of the bigger age-gap discrepancies between opposing starting quarterbacks the league has ever seen. As for the Falcons, they return home to Atlanta to face Jimmy Garoppolo and the San Francisco 49ers. 

[Oct 9, 2022 at 4:07 pm ET · Garrett Podell]

A roughing the passer penalty on Falcons defensive tackle Grady Jarrett after he sacked Tom Brady on third and five took all the momentum of the Falcons' comeback push. Brady converted the next third-and-five he faced, which allowed him to take a few knees and ice the game. The Buccaneers take sole possession of first place in the NFC South with a 21-15 win. 

[Oct 9, 2022 at 3:51 pm ET · Garrett Podell]

Marcus Mariota executes a perfectly-run RPO, a fake handoff to Tyler Allgeier followed by hitting wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus on a slant for a 19-yard touchdown. He converts the ensuing two-point conversion, a pass in the back of the end zone to KhaDarel Hodge, that trims the Tampa Bay lead to six, 21-15, with 4:38 to go.

[Oct 9, 2022 at 3:45 pm ET · Garrett Podell]

Buccaneers cornerbacks Sean Murphy-Bunting (quad) and Carlton Davis (hip) both ruled out for the rest of today's game. 

[Oct 9, 2022 at 3:42 pm ET · Garrett Podell]

The Falcons defense is taking care of business, forcing consecutive Buccaneers three-and-out. A Fournette three yard rush followed by back-to-back Brady incompletions leads to only 25 seconds elapsing on that Tampa Bay possession. Falcons take over on their own 28.