Buccaneers @ Falcons
Tell me if you’ve heard this one before – Tom Brady trails against the Falcons and leads a comeback for the victory. The Bucs trailed 17-0 at the half but scored on their next 5 possessions to win 31-27. For Atlanta, Calvin Ridley had a monster game on his 26th birthday. Let’s dive in and see what we can take away from this game.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Quarterback
Tom Brady: 31/45, 390 yards, 2 TDs, 3 sacks | 2 carries, -2 yards
Tom Brady had himself a tail of two halves against the Falcons. After the 1st Half the Bucs offense had piled up a measly 61 yards and four consecutive drives that ended with punts. Even when Brady was able to string together a couple of plays, the Falcons’ defense would come up with a sack to end the threat.
Brady must’ve had one of his patented TB12 Avacado Shakes at half time because he came out playing like the Brady of 2007. The Bucs received the 2nd half kickoff and put up 31 points over their next 5 drives. It started with a 20-yard completion to Antonio Brown before connecting with Cameron Brate. Three plays later, Brady hooked up with Mike Evans for 32-yards down to the 1-yard line. Evans was shaken up on the hit but would return. Fournette took it in for the score on the next play.
The Bucs got the ball following a Falcons’ touchdown and went right back to work. On 3rd and 5, Brady hit Evans on a 26-yard catch and run. The next play Brady found Fournette for a 16-yard catch. Two plays later, Brady connected with Evans again for 24 yards down to the 4.
Brady and Evans on the same page 🎯 #GoBucs
📺: #TBvsATL on FOX
📱: NFL app // Yahoo Sports app: https://t.co/EJLjYXQNy2 pic.twitter.com/xk1RIrXp8L— NFL (@NFL) December 20, 2020
Two plays later, Brady hit Chris Godwin and the Bucs were back in the end zone.
4️⃣th Chris Godwin score this year.#FantasyFootball | #GoBucs pic.twitter.com/v8B8wFDoE9
— QB List (@TheQBlist) December 20, 2020
The Falcons went 3-and-out and the Bucs took over and started rolling again. This time, a pass interference penalty combined with a face mask penalty moved the Bucs 28 yards and into the red zone. Brady connected with Fournette and Brown to get the ball back down to the 1-yard line. Fournette finished off the drive with another 1-yard touchdown plunge, making it a 24-21 game.
A Falcons 3-and-out together with a 21-yard Kenjon Barner punt return gave the Bucs the ball at midfield to start the next possession. On 3rd and 5, Brady connected with Evans for 11 yards and a new set of downs. He then hit Godwin and Brown to head into the red zone. The drive stalled at the 9-yard line and the Bucs settled for a field goal that tied the game.
Following a Falcons’ field goal, Brady took over down 3. Brady connected with Brate over the middle for 18 yards and Godwin for 13 yards to head into Falcons’ territory. On the very next play, Brady hooked up with Antonio Brown deep to give the Bucs their first lead of the game.
Antonio Brown with his first TD since Week 3 of last season. #Bucs take the lead for the first time today.pic.twitter.com/lLvjfkQPWM
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) December 20, 2020
The teams exchanged punts and the Falcons turned the ball over on downs. The Bucs ran the clock out for the victory. We’ll get to the 4th quarter drama next when we talk about Fournette.
Running Backs
Leonard Fournette: 14 carries, 49 yards, 2 TDs | 5 targets, 3 receptions, 16 yards
Ke’Shawn Vaughn: 2 carries, 4 yards | 1 target
LeSean McCoy: 3 targets, 3 receptions, 32 yards
Out of 68 offensive snaps, Leonard Fournette led the way playing on 45 snaps. LeSean McCoy (12) and Ke’Shawn Vaughn (10) split backup duties and Kenjon Barner saw one snap.
With Ronald Jones hitting the COVID list earlier in the week, Fournette was the lead back. There was a little chatter about Vaughn stepping in more, but seeing as he received just 3 opportunities, this was the Fournette show.
Fournette certainly didn’t light the world on fire, as he had just 3 carries of 6 yards or more, but handled the ball 6 times in the red zone, scoring twice from the 1-yard line. Here’s the first touchdown.
Little Red Fournette#FantasyFootball | #GoBucs pic.twitter.com/B94jyj8y3Q
— QB List (@TheQBlist) December 20, 2020
Alright, here’s the little drama at the end. After the Falcons turned the ball over on downs, the Bucs took over with 2 minutes to play. On 3rd and 2, Fournette took a handoff and appeared to be short of the 1st down. Here’s the chain, which they called a 1st down.
As a Buccaneers fan, dear NFL: How did we get this first down? #Bucs #Falcons pic.twitter.com/T8M6kveiKO
— T to the K-M, Esq. (@Perkunas687) December 20, 2020
And here’s a view of the ref moving the ball up some. Listen, most likely, the Bucs would’ve kicked a short field goal and the game would’ve been over, but the Falcons didn’t even have a chance.
https://twitter.com/TheArmchairQB1/status/1340768164477612037
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
Mike Evans: 7 targets, 6 receptions, 110 yards
Antonio Brown: 7 targets, 5 receptions, 93 yards, TD
Cameron Brate: 4 targets, 4 receptions, 54 yards
Chris Godwin: 5 targets, 4 receptions, 36 yards, TD, 1 fumble
Rob Gronkowski: 7 targets, 3 receptions, 29 yards
Scotty Miller: 3 targets, 3 receptions, 20 yards
Tyler Johnson: 1 target
Mike Evans is the man. He left the game in the 3rd quarter on the Bucs’ first touchdown drive after taking a big hit but returned to the game. There was also footage of him on the sideline throwing up. In spite of that, Evans played on 55 of the teams’ snaps. Evans caught 2 deep balls that went down to the 1 and 4-yard lines and only finding the end zone would’ve made it a better day.
As the weeks move on, Antonio Brown’s chemistry with Brady grows and each week, I’m reminded of the play-maker that he is. Brown played on 32 of 68 snaps and in addition to his huge touchdown reception, he had a reception that took him down to the 1-yard line.
Chris Godwin led the Bucs wideouts with 60 snaps but has taken a back seat to Evans and Brown. All Godwin’s targets were short and he saw just one target in the red zone – his touchdown.
Cameron Brate was out-snapped by Rob Gronkowski 62 to 23, but Brate continues to be a target for Brady in the middle of the field and in the red zone. Today, Brate saw no targets in the red zone but did see a deep target that he caught. Gronkowski saw just short targets today but did have three red-zone targets. One of his red-zone targets came on a 1st and Goal from the 1 and resulted in a pass interference penalty.
Atlanta Falcons
Quarterback
Matt Ryan: 34/49, 356 yards, 3 TDs, 3 sacks | 1 carry, 16 yards
Matt Ryan started the game off with a great drive. On 3rd and 9, he completed a pass to Todd Gurley for a 1st down. Two plays later, on 3rd and 1, he hit Calvin Ridley on a catch and run that went for 23 yards. He then hit Russell Gage on a deep pass for 32-yards that went down to the 5-yard line. Gage was rewarded on the very next play.
https://twitter.com/AtlantaFalcons/status/1340721091250143232
On the next drive, Ryan had a nice 16-yard run on 3rd and 6. Ultimately, the drive stalled and the Falcons punted. They also went 3-and-out on the next drive, but following the third Bucs’ punt, the Falcons took back over with points on their mind. One of the key plays came on 4th and 2 from the Falcons’ 46-yard line as Ryan connected with Gage for a 1st down. Three plays later, Ryan connected with Ridley for the touchdown.
A little birthday 🎁 from #MattyIce❄️ to @CalvinRidley1!
📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/iTziH5DnnH
— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) December 20, 2020
Following another Bucs punt, Ryan led a 13 play, 75-yard drive that ended with a field goal. On the drive, he completed key 3rd down passes to Ridley and Gage. The Falcons’ had to be happy to head to the locker room with a 17 point lead.
The Bucs scored to open the half, so the next time Ryan touched the ball the Falcons led by 10. He picked up where he left off, completing a deep pass to Ridley for 28 yards. He then hit Gage and Ito Smith to lead the Falcons into the red zone. On 1st and Goal from the 7, Ryan hit Hayden Hurst for the touchdown.
https://twitter.com/AtlantaFalcons/status/1340746104175022081
The Falcons went 3-and-out twice, while the Bucs scored twice to make it a tie game. On the drive, Ryan connected with Ridley deep again for a 33 yard gain into Bucs territory. Two plays later, Ryan took a shot to the end zone for Ridley, but Antoine Winfield was just barely able to knock the pass away. The Falcons settled for a field goal.
Antoine Winfield Jr. played this perfectly 🔥 @AntoineWJr11 @Buccaneers
📺 #TBvsATL on FOX pic.twitter.com/T0KPmwCkmp
— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) December 20, 2020
Down 4, the Falcons went 3-and-out and then 4-and-out to lose the game.
Running Backs
Ito Smith: 6 carries, 24 yards | 3 targets, 2 receptions, 9 yards
Todd Gurley: 1 carry, -1 yard | 2 targets, 2 receptions, 15 yards
Brian Hill: 5 carries, -2 yards | 2 targets, 2 receptions, 9 yards
Keith Smith: 3 targets, 3 receptions, 32 yards
What a mess. Here’s the breakdown of the snaps: Ito Smith 31, Todd Gurley 16, Brian Hill 15. Honestly, there’s nothing to see here. Gurley’s lone carry came on the 1st play of the game, but Smith was the primary early-down back for the majority of the game. There were no red zone opportunities for any of the backs, so we’re just going to move on.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
Calvin Ridley: 14 targets, 10 receptions, 163 yards, TD | 2 carries, 13 yards
Russell Gage: 10 targets, 5 receptions, 68 yards, TD
Hayden Hurst: 5 targets, 4 receptions, 21 yards, TD
Luke Stocker: 3 targets, 2 receptions, 21 yards
Laquon Treadwell: 1 target, 1 reception, 14 yards
Brandon Powell: 4 targets, 2 receptions, 5 yards
Christian Blake: 1 target, 1 reception, -1 yard
Happy Birthday, Calvin Ridley! The birthday boy had himself a day. He played on 58 snaps and saw a 28.5% target share. Ridley saw 5 deep targets and just 1 red zone target, although he did have an additional target in the end zone on a deep target. As long as Julio Jones is sidelined, Ridley should continue to see a monster workload. Here are some of the highlights from Ridley’s special day.
this Matt Ryan to Calvin Ridley throw and catch was just so smooth pic.twitter.com/Q4GwLKTTqm
— Nate Tice (@Nate_Tice) December 21, 2020
https://twitter.com/AlabamaDieHards/status/1340759911806939137
Russell Gage played 59 snaps and saw a big workload with Jones sidelined. He saw two deep targets and two red-zone targets. As long as Jones is on the shelf, Gage sets up as a high-floor play in PPR leagues.
Hayden Hurst played on 43 snaps. He saw one red-zone target which he caught for a touchdown.
— Rich Holman (@RichardoPL83 on Twitter)