Keys to Falcons' win over Bucs

By D. Orlando Ledbetter

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

1.Running back Jerious Norwood got the start, but Jason Snelling did most of the heavy lifting. Snelling had 25 carries for 147 yards, his first 100-yard game. The Falcons were ready for the Buccaneers defense, which put eight and sometimes nine players in the box. The Falcons strategy was simple. If the Bucs bunched up inside between the tackles, the Falcons would run outside. If Tampa Bay spread out its alignment, the Falcons would pound the ball up the middle. Overall, the Falcons finished with a season-high 183 yards rushing. The previous high mark this season was 181 yards against Washington on Nov. 8.

2. The Falcons defense stopped the run over the second half of the season. The Falcons held the Bucs to a 1.9-yard per-rush average in the first half. It was the lowest mark for an opponent in the first half since they held the Raiders to 1.7 per carry on Nov. 2, 2008. The Bucs finished with just 38 yards rushing, a season-low for an Atlanta opponent. The Falcons held Buffalo to 40 yards rushing last week. The Falcons entered Week 17 as the 17th ranked team against the run and are now certain to finish in the top half of the league.

3. Rookie linebacker Spencer Adkins, playing his fifth game as a professional two hours north of his hometown of Naples, Fla., made an important special teams tackle in front of 15 friends and family members. A Matt Bryant field goal had just tied the game, 3-3, near the end of the first half. Waiting to receive Michael Koenen's kickoff was Tampa Bay receiver Michael Spurlock, the reigning NFC special teams player of the week and a big reason the Buccaneers lead the league in kickoff return yardage. Adkins tackled Spurlock for no gain on the return, bottling up the Bucs at their own 12-yard line. “Basically, I was just running down, reading my keys," Adkins said. "Koenen had a perfect kick in the corner. He actually made the returner pause in the corner a little bit. It gave the coverage time to fill the lane. He was trying to hesitate a little bit, but there was nowhere to go. That made the tackle easy, because the rest of my players were coming from all angles.” Atlanta's defense forced a three-and-out and the Falcons took over with good field position at their own 47. Matt Ryan's touchdown pass eight plays later to tight end Justin Peelle gave the Falcons their first lead.

By the numbers

5.9 -- Running back Jason Snelling's average per carry.

78.9 -- Matt Ryan's quarterback rating.

1 -- Number of catches that Tony Gonzalez needs to reach 1,000 in his career.

6 -- Cornerback Brent Grimes had another interception to give him six for the season, which leads the team.

10:29 -- The Falcons had a 10-minute, 29-second advantage in time of possession.

38 -- The Falcons defense held the Buccaneers to 38 yards rushing.

Etc.

• Matt Ryan was intercepted in the third quarter by Tampa Bay safety Tanard Jackson. It was his first interception since the Nov. 15 game at Carolina.

• When Tampa Bay scored in the fourth quarter, it marked the first touchdown the Falcons had allowed in 11 previous quarters.

• The Falcons completed the season sweep of the Buccaneers for just the second time in the series history and the first time since 2006.

• For the second straight year, Atlanta ended the regular season with with three consecutive victories.

• After his first two seasons at the helm, Falcons head coach Mike Smith's two-year record of 20-12 is the second highest winning percentage (.625) among Falcons head coaches. Smith ranks second to Dan Reeves who compiled a 21-11 record (.656) in his first two years.

Injury report

• Safety Thomas DeCoud suffered a groin injury in the first quarter. Eric Brock subbed for DeCoud, until he later returned to the game.

-- D. Orlando Ledbetter and Carter Gaddis