How Falcons Defense Flipped Script, Handled Buccaneers in Second Half

Atlanta Falcons safety Justin Simmons stood in front of his locker on the left side of the room, sporting a mint green suit in the aftermath of Atlanta’s thrilling 36-30 overtime victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday night inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Simmons was a part of a rocky defensive effort, but one that proved good enough to vault the Falcons into an early-season lead in the NFC South — and that, Simmons said, is all that matters.

“The biggest thing is that win,” Simmons said. “Doesn’t matter if it’s 10-3 or 30-something to 30-something, as long as we win.”

Atlanta’s defense appeared capable of achieving both scoring thresholds Thursday night, which proved to be a tale of two halves.

The Buccaneers had four full drives in the first half and scored on each of them, netting three touchdowns, one field goal and 24 points on the scoreboard. They were averaging nearly nine yards per play.

But the Falcons came out of the locker room with an altered gameplan that led to a more stingy defensive attack. They limited Tampa Bay to just six points and 111 net yards of offense on 26 plays, an average of 4.3 yards per snap.

Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield completed 7-of-9 passes for 49 yards, though a seven-yard sack in the redzone left Tampa Bay with 42 net yards on passing plays in the second half. Atlanta, meanwhile, had 241 yards from quarterback Kirk Cousins.

Tampa Bay rushed 16 times for 69 yards, 43 of which came on six scrambles from Mayfield. The Buccaneers’ running backs, Rachaad White and Bucky Irving, totaled 10 carries for 24 yards and a crucial fumble from Irving that cost Tampa Bay three points and plenty of clock on the penultimate drive.

But how did the Falcons do it? With the same recipe they used the week prior: getting back to their style. After a blitz-heavy first half finished with no further pressure applied, Falcons defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake returned to his bend-but-don’t-break roots, and Tampa Bay struggled completing drives.

“They definitely weren’t playing as aggressive,” Mayfield said. “They weren’t pressuring as much. Kind of dropping back and making us work our way down the field.”

The Buccaneers’ first drive of the second half ended with a punt. Right tackle Justin Skule’s holding penalty put Tampa Bay behind the chains and it failed to recover.

On the next drive, the Buccaneers marched deep into Falcons territory, but defensive tackle David Onyemata sacked Mayfield on 3rd and 3 from inside Atlanta’s 10-yard line. Tampa Bay settled for a field goal.

The draft after, Buccaneers kicker Chase McLaughlin hit a 53-yard field goal as Atlanta’s defense held serve after Tampa Bay crossed midfield.

But after a pair of scoring drives, the Buccaneers’ offense went quiet.

Tampa Bay’s seven-play, 31-yard, clock-chewing series late in the fourth quarter ended with Irving’s fumble. The possession after, the Buccaneers inherited the ball at Atlanta’s 34-yard line, with linebacker Lavonte David intercepting Cousins. Players on both sides said postgame they thought David’s takeaway effectively ended the game.

But the Falcons forced the Buccaneers to punt, as a pair of negative plays to White paired with a holding penalty on center Graham Barton pushed Tampa Bay out of field goal range.

Simmons said Atlanta’s defense merely wanted to give its offense the ball back. It did more than that, keeping the deficit at a field goal and making life significantly easier for Cousins and company.

The Falcons marched into field goal range, and kicker Younghoe Koo made a game-tying 52-yard field goal as time expired. Atlanta won the coin toss in overtime, received the kickoff and scored a walk-off 45-yard touchdown on a pass from Cousins to receiver KhaDarel Hodge.

Tampa Bay never saw the ball again after its punt.

[ Buccaneers ‘Shi–ed Down Our Leg’ in Collapse at Falcons]

White, speaking postgame, gave credit to Lake’s in-game adjustments, along with noting the importance of defensive tackle Grady Jarrett, who made four tackles over the final 30 minutes of regulation.

“I think we were just moving in circles with things,” White said. “They did a good job. Jimmy Lake did a good job. They started stunting and sending some blitzes into the line. They kind of tried to slow it down and that’s what they did. Then Grady Jarrett had a couple good plays.”

Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles wasn’t as generous to Atlanta’s defense and put a significant portion of blame on Tampa Bay’s offense for a lack of execution.

“They made some adjustments, but we missed a lot of plays, too,” Bowles said. “We missed a lot of plays. We can’t play the Bucs and the Falcons.”

Tampa Bay’s box score shows 30 points, 333 net yards and 6.5 yards per play. It had only one turnover, and Mayfield completed 19-of-24 passes.

But the Buccaneers ultimately didn’t do enough to win, in part because of Atlanta’s offense having its most productive game of the season but also due to a strong defensive effort down the stretch.

Falcons head coach Raheem Morris is also pleased with the strides his defense made stopping the run. Tampa Bay totaled 26 carries for 160 yards, but Morris believes context is important.

White sprung a 56-yard run in the second quarter. Mayfield had 42 yards as a scrambler on designed passing plays. On the Buccaneers’ other 19 carries, they rushed for just 62 yards, an average of 3.3 yards per carry.

But White’s big play and an inability to contain the quarterback post-snap can’t simply be removed — and the Falcons know it.

“We didn’t play nearly well enough on defense, myself included,” Simmons said, citing tackling struggles. “But what a game from our offense. Obviously, it’ll always come down to a team win — we did better in the second half defensively — but man, offense, just [a] heck of a job from them.”

Rookie linebacker JD Bertrand, who played 72% of Atlanta’s defensive snaps in his first extended action due to the injury-related absence of starter Troy Andersen, said the Falcons entered Thursday night with two specific goals.

Atlanta wanted to stop Tampa Bay’s rushing attack and eliminate star receiver Mike Evans. The Buccaneers averaged 6.2 yards per carry, and Evans caught five passes for 62 yards and two touchdowns.

But within context, the Falcons’ run defense was serviceable. The same is true for Atlanta’s coverage on Evans, whose biggest play — a 23-yard touchdown grab — came in a one-on-one against backup nickel Antonio Hamilton Sr., who entered the game due to starter Dee Alford’s concussion.

The raw numbers aren’t great. The context is much better. And in Bertrand’s eyes, the most important number — the final score — shows Atlanta’s defense satisfied the goal enough to win.

“Obviously, we’re going to go back there and there’s going to be some plays we want,” Bertrand said. “That’s how it’s always going to be.”

But the Falcons have the luxury of entering their mini-bye week with a victory. Film sessions and resulting corrections were a given. Being able to do them after winning was not.

A key message in Atlanta’s locker room throughout the summer and into the regular season centers around running the NFC South. The Falcons beat the two teams ahead of them in the division at the time of their meetings in the New Orleans Saints and Buccaneers.

In both games, Atlanta struggled in one phase.

Against the Saints, the Falcons failed to score an offensive touchdown. Their defense and special teams each found the endzone while succeeding enough in their own facets to win.

On Thursday night, while Atlanta’s defense had no answer in the first half for the Buccaneers’ offense, Cousins kept the game close — and when the Falcons needed a stop late, their defense delivered. The offense capitalized. The special teams unit tied the game, and the offense won it in overtime.

Atlanta’s next step is playing complementary football for all 60 minutes — but in the meantime, the Falcons are winning, and they’re proving more and more about their intangible makeup in the process.

“We’re finding different ways to win,” Simmons said, “and we’re winning early, so it’s a good confidence builder for us.”