The Falcons’ young defense had a tough time slowing down the Bucs in the first half, but a couple timely stops in the second half was all they needed.
With two stops, the offense was able to string together three touchdown drives and blow the game open as the Falcons cruised to a 43-28 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday at Raymond James Stadium.
“Overall, I think we did pretty well,” defensive end Vic Beasley said. “We gave up a couple of plays, but we fought in the right areas.”
Defensive tackle Grady Jarrett led the way with two sacks. Adrian Clayborn also added a sack and linebacker De’Vondre Campbell, who had a forced fumble, led the team with nine tackles.
Safety Keanu Neal and cornerback Jalen Collins, who came on for the injured Desmond Trufant, had big hits on Tampa Bay receiver Mike Evans and quarterback Jameis Winston, knocking both out of the game.
With the three sacks, the Falcons have 21 on the season, surpassing last season’s total of 19, which was last in the league.
“We were able to get a little pressure on Winston and force him to throw the ball before he wanted to throw it,” Beasley said. “The defense was able to get a couple of pass break ups. They made a couple of plays, but you have to expect that from Winston.”
The Falcons held a 20-14 halftime lead and the offense scored a touchdown on the opening possession of the second half.
The defense got a three-and-out and the offense scored another touchdown. The Falcons stopped Bucs’ ensuing drive and the offense scored again to build a 40-14 lead.
In addition to the three sacks, the Falcons had eight quarterback hits. In the season opening 31-24 loss to the Bucson Sept. 11, the Falcons didn’t record a sack and had six quarterback hits.
“It felt good getting pressure, most definitely,” Jarrett said. “(That was) one of our objectives as a unit. We got that done. Got a couple quarterback hits, a couple sacks and it feels good. We’re just trying to improve week-by-week as a unit and just keep it going.”
The Falcons have recorded 17 sacks over the past four games.
“We’re just kind of finding our stride working as a whole versus working as four different individuals,” Jarrett said. “It’s the whole defense as far as the coverage and the up front (players). So, it all worked together. We’re improving week by week. Just got to continue to work on our finish. I feel like we’re building something good.”
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