Falcons defense lets Bucs off hook

The Buccaneers tried to self-destruct. The Falcons wouldn’t let them.

The Bucs scored their first touchdown against the Falcons on Sunday in spite of facing a first-and-20 following consecutive penalties for illegal shift and illegal formation. Tampa Bay entered the game as the most penalized team in the league with 127 infractions.

The back-to-back pre-snap penalties pushed the Bucs back to the Falcons’ 43-yard line. But Tampa Bay gained the first down when Jameis Winston completed a 14-yard pass to Mike Evans, Charles Sims followed with a five-yard run and Doug Martin ran for two yards to the 22-yard line.

The Buccaneers gained a first-and-goal at the six after facemask penalty on Falcons cornerback Philip Wheeler added seven yards to the end of Martin’s nine-yard run. Two plays later Winston scored when he scrambled right and lunged into the end zone from five yards out.

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