The Falcons rebounded in grand style Thursday night at the Georgia Dome.
The offense moved at will, the defense showed flashes of a pass rush and special-teams maven Devin Hester ignited the building with a dazzling return in the 56-14 plastering of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before 70,318 fans.
“It was a fun night,” quarterback Matt Ryan said. “I love the energy we showed tonight.”
After defeating New Orleans, the Falcons suffered a disconcerting 24-10 loss to Cincinnati. With the win over the Bucs, they improved to 2-1. The Bucs, in their first season under Lovie Smith, a veteran NFL head coach, looked awful as they dropped to 0-3.
“I’m very pleased with the way we came out after a short week,” Falcons coach Mike Smith said. “We tried to be as fresh as we could possibly be. The guys responded extremely well in all three phases of the game.”
The Falcons, who were without four-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Roddy White, leaned heavily on wide receiver Julio Jones, who caught nine passes for 161 yards and two touchdowns.
Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan, after throwing three interceptions in Cincinnati and posting a sub-50 passer for the fourth time in 96 regular-season games, was on the mark as he completed 21 of 24 passes (87.5 percent) for 286 yards and three touchdowns and passer rating of 155.9.
The defense, which had yielded nearly 1,000 yards in the previous two games, held Tampa Bay to one touchdown, 217 yards and recorded three sacks.
“We went out there and we had a ball,” safety William Moore said. “We came out and we put on a show tonight.”
The offense came out determined to show that the last outing was a fluke.
The Falcons opened the game with a flawless six-play, 70 yard drive that was capped by a Ryan tossing a 3-yard touchdown pass to Harry Douglas, who later left the game with a foot injury.
“I thought it was great execution,” Smith said of the drive. “It was a great plan in terms of what we were facing and what we thought we’d face. I thought we set the tempo well.”
After the defense held Tampa Bay to a three-and-out, the offense went back to work. The unit needed a bizarre play to keep its second possession alive.
Ryan connected with tight end Levine Toilolo for a 13-yard gain before the ball was stripped by cornerback Alterraun Verner. Bucs safety Mark Barrow caught the ball in the air and started running before Hester stripped him of the ball and recovered it at Tampa Bay’s 37.
After some powerful running by Steven Jackson, the Falcons scored eight plays later when Ryan tossed an 8-yard touchdown pass to Jones. Bryant’s kick made the score 14-0.
The Falcons’ defense, which gave up nearly 1,000 yards in the first two games, then got in on the action.
Defensive tackle Corey Peters put some pressure on quarterback Luke McCown, and safety Kemal Ishmael intercepted a pass that was intended for Vincent Jackson and raced 23 yards for the touchdown.
The defense forced a fumble on Tampa Bay’s next possession, as linebacker Paul Worrliow raked the ball away from running back Bobby Rainey. Free safety Dwight Lowery recovered.
After picking up a third down-and-17, the Falcons scored on an end around by Hester, who later added an 62-yard punt return for a touchdown with 7:06 left in the second quarter to break a record he shared with former Falcons great Deion Sanders.
“I like to offer my congratulation to Devin Hester for setting the record,” Smith said. “He had a great night and has been a great addition to our football team.”
With Sanders in the building working for NFL Network, Hester shot up the left sideline, blasted past Tampa Bay punter Michael Koenen at the 25-yard line and started high-stepping like Sanders for the last 16 yards.
The fans went wild when the record was announced and Sanders was shown on the video screens. Hester got emotional on the sidelines and started crying on the bench.
Hester now has the most returns for touchdowns in NFL history, with 20. Hester has 14 punt returns for touchdowns, five kickoff returns for touchdowns and one missed field goal return for a touchdown.
The Falcons added a 40-yard touchdown pass to Jones in the third quarter. He turned twice while tracking the ball and making an spectacular over the shoulder grab.
“That was just a helluva catch,” Ryan said. “He’s a special guy. We talk about that all the time. When we get him in the at situation, we just put the ball up and believe that he’s going to come down with it.”
After a botched snap by Tampa Bay that was recovered by defensive end Stansly Maponga, Jackson slammed into the end zone for a 2-yard touchdown.
Ryan and the first-team offense were pulled with 4:59 left in the third quarter. Backup quarterback T.J. Yates led the reserves on a touchdown drive as running back Antone Smith scored on a 38-yard run to make the score 56-0.
The Bucs added two meaningless touchdowns for the final margin.
