Atlanta Falcons: Studs and duds from Week 15 vs. Buccaneers
Atlanta Falcons studs and duds from Week 15 and another late-game collapse.
Having lost two straight games coming into Week 15, the Atlanta Falcons faced a tough test against an NFC South opponent in the first of two games against that squad over the course of the final three weeks of the regular season.
In its final home game of the 2020 season, Atlanta returned to Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta to play host to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the first time of the year. By the end of the game, the Falcons kicked off against the Buccaneers by impressing many to only collapse at home, dropping the game 31-27.
To begin the contest, Atlanta got off to a solid start, jumping out to a 7-0 lead after the first quarter while holding a 17-0 advantage going into halftime.
In the second half, the Falcons quickly blew their lead against the Buccaneers, with Tampa Bay outscoring Atlanta 21-7 in the third quarter and 10-3 in the fourth quarter to complete a comeback victory and take the game by four points.
With the first of two contests between Atlanta and Tampa Bay now over with in Week 15, let’s lay out some studs and duds that appeared in the game for the Falcons.
Stud: Quick start to the game
The first thing that was positive for Atlanta was the quick start to the game and the early lead it was able to get out to at home against Tampa Bay.
The Falcons jumped out to a 7-0 advantage after the first quarter while extending that lead to 17-0 going into halftime. For the most part, Atlanta did what it normally does on the offensive side of the ball and the defense did a nice job in holding a talented Buccaneers offense in check on the other side of the field.
Atlanta holding a lead is never a settling thing or something you can feel comfortable with, but the fact that the Falcons were able to jump out in front early was a great early sign to see on Sunday.
Dud: Rushing attack
Although the passing game was thriving throughout the course of the game and resulted in the team looking that route rather than on the ground in the running game, the rushing attack was something of concern throughout the course of the game for Atlanta.
The Falcons continued to struggle on the ground against Tampa Bay, finishing the game with just a total of 13 carries for 37 yards. Leading the way for that unit in the contest was Ito Smith with six rushes for 24 yards.
With the success through the air, that fed into the lack of a running game for the Falcons. But it continues to be one of the weak spots among an offensive unit that has been one of the tops in the NFL once again in 2020.