Atlanta Falcons: Studs and duds from Week 17 vs. Buccaneers
Atlanta Falcons studs and duds from another loss to end the regular season.
The Atlanta Falcons entered the final week of the NFL season looking to try and play spoilers to round out the year against a divisional opponent. The Falcons hit the road to end the year by facing the Tampa Buccaneers for the second time in the final three weeks of the season, a battle between two NFC South teams in Tampa Bay on Sunday afternoon.
In the game, Atlanta fell to Tampa Bay as it did just a few weeks ago, dropping the contest 44-27 to get swept in the two-game series against the Buccaneers in 2020. In the first half, Tampa Bay opened the game up by outscoring Atlanta 3-10 in the first quarter and 10-7 in the second quarter to take a 20-10 advantage in to halftime.
Over the final two quarters, the Falcons made things interesting in the third quarter while outscoring the Buccaneers 10-0 in that frame alone, but Tampa Bay answered with a 21-7 advantage in the fourth quarter to win by 17 points in the final game of the regular season.
With the final game of the year over and done with for both teams, here are some studs and duds for Atlanta in the contest.
Stud: Brian Hill
With the running game in Atlanta continuing to be below average in 2020, the Falcons have had some different players step up and lead the ground game at different points in the regular season. In the final game of the year on Sunday afternoon, that leader in the rushing attack was Brian Hill, who led the team in multiple areas running the ball.
As a unit, the Falcons finished with 26 rushes for 127 yards and one touchdown, with Hill pacing that group with nine rushes for 94 yards. Todd Gurley added nine carries for 18 yards and Matt Ryan ran for one touchdown behind Hill.
Dud: Turnovers
Although the Falcons didn’t manage to throw any interceptions or commit turnovers in that aspect, Atlanta still fumbled the ball and turned the ball over a few times on offense which allowed Tampa Bay extra opportunities to march down the field on its side of the ball.
In the game, the Falcons ended up fumbling the ball a total of four times, losing two of those fumbles along the way. Ryan fumbled the ball twice, losing one fumble, while Calvin Ridley lost the other fumble for Atlanta. Hill also committed a fumble for the Falcons, but that was at least recovered by Atlanta.
The Falcons have shot themselves in the foot multiple times in 2020, and they capped the season off by doing that yet again in Week 17.