Bucs fight way to top of the NFC South
Associated PressAfter beating the Atlanta Falcons 30-27 in another nail-bitter, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are now tied with Carolina.
Published November 20, 2005
Derrick Brooks and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers finally stopped Michael Vick when it counted.
Brooks knocked the ball away from Vick with just over a minute remaining, Tampa Bay recovered the fumble and Matt Bryant kicked a 45-yard field goal that gave the Buccaneers a 30-27 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.
The Bucs (7-3) moved into a tie for first in the NFC South with Carolina, which lost 13-3 at Chicago. The Falcons (6-4) remained one game back in the hotly contested division after their second straight loss at home.
Atlanta fell behind 13-0, then moved the ball at will against Tampa Bay's highly ranked defense. Vick threw for 306 yards -- only the second 300-yard passing game of his career -- and led five straight scoring possessions, including a 10-yard touchdown pass to Michael Jenkins that gave the Falcons a 27-20 lead with 7:36 remaining.
Tampa Bay drove 71 yards in 11 plays to tie it. Carnell "Cadillac" Williams scored on a 9-yard run with 1:55 left.
The Falcons got the ball back at their 20 with plenty of time and all three timeouts. Vick connected with Warrick Dunn on an 11-yard pass, then Dunn broke several tackles for an 8-yard run.
Leave it to Brooks, who has always been at his best against the Falcons, to decide the game.
He rushed up the middle, leaped over an attempted block by Dunn and swatted the ball away from Vick as he dropped back to pass. Shelton Quarles fell on the loose ball at the Atlanta 34 with 1:07 left.
Four plays later, Bryant kicked his winning field goal with 42 seconds remaining.
Vick wasn't through, driving the Falcons to the Tampa Bay 37 with 5 seconds remaining. Michael Koenen attempted a 55-yard field goal on the final play, but it sailed wide right to give the Bucs an important division win.
Tampa Bay surrendered 443 yards, but came up with two huge defensive plays. With Vick on the sideline after being shaken up on a sack, Simeon Rice blew right by his blocker and knocked the ball out of Matt Schaub's hand. Anthony McFarland fell on it for a touchdown and a 10-0 lead less than eight minutes into the game.
The Bucs added another field goal before Atlanta got rolling. Vick started out 2-of-8, but finished 21-of-38. Dunn rushed for 82 yards and T.J. Duckett had 51, including a short touchdown run. Rookie Roddy White had four catches for a career-high 108 yards -- only the second 100-yard game of the year for a Falcons receiver. Michael Jenkins and Alge Crumpler each caught a touchdown pass.
It wasn't enough against Tampa Bay, which managed to win with just 258 yards on offense. Williams was the catalyst with 116 yards on 19 carries, while Chris Simms managed 118 yards through the air.
Joey Galloway, who ranked third in the league in both yards receiving and touchdown catches, was held without a reception by the Falcons.