Bucs Dominate Falcons 31-7

In a nice fresh change from the last few games, the Bucs went out and basically pasted the Falcons, putting 31 points on the board (7 by the defense and 24 by the offense). The Bucs took it to them all day long and basically shut the Falcons offense down until the final Falcons' drive that netted them 82 yards, putting them over the 200 yard mark (275 total yards). Until that drive, the Falcons' offense had been shut down all game long. The Falcons averaged just 2.6 yards per carry getting 49 total rushing yards.

On the flip side, the Bucs offense showed some rust early, especially with Pittman who dropped three passes. The Bucs had chances to really put some drives together early, but had some miscues that limited some of their first half drives. During the second half, however, after a forgettable 3 and out to open the half, the Bucs began to dominate as much on offense as they were dominating on defense. Graham became the workhorse down the stretch, and Alex Smith got a TD pass that sealed the game. The next series was all Graham, though, who finished the drive by busting off a 26 yard TD run that included a jock strap dropping juke on Milloy that allowed him to get the final 10-15 yards for the TD. Graham finished with 102 yards rushing for his second straight 100 yard game.

Overall, it was a good day for the Bucs whose play-off positioning greatly improved on this Sunday with the Saints, Panthers, Lions, and Redskins all losing. The Bucs are, because of tie-breakers, currently 3 games up on the Saints and Panthers, and they play both teams again. The Bucs are now firmly in the drivers seat and need to keep winning going forward.