The Buccaneers entered Week 8 with the most penalties per game in the league while the Falcons were among the least penalized teams.
The Bucs came to the Georgia Dome on Sunday and dragged the Falcons down into the muck.
The teams combined for nine penalties in the first half: The Bucs had five penalties for 24 yards and the Falcons were penalized four times for 26 yards. The Bucs also declined a holding penalty against Falcons tight end Jacob Tamme in the first half.
The penalty yardage totals weren’t very large in the first half but a handful of them wiped out big plays. The most costly penalty for the Falcons came in overtime, when cornerback Phillip Adams was called for pass interference to give the Bucs a first down at the Falcons’ 13-yard line.
That penalty helped to set up Connor Barth’s 31-yard field goal that put Tampa Bay ahead 23-20 with 7:52 left in overtime. It was the second damaging pass interference penalty for the Falcons after halftime.
In the third quarter Bucs quarterback Jameis Winston lofted a pass deep down the right sideline to wide receiver Mike Evans. Falcons safety Ricardo Allen came over to break up the play but cornerback Desmond Trufant was called for pass interference, giving the Bucs a first down at the Tampa Bay 36-yard line.
Five plays later, Winston ran for a four-yard touchdown that staked the Bucs to a 20-3 lead.
On the ensuing drive, the Falcons earned a first-and-goal at the Tampa Bay 10-yard line. Ryan passed to Justin Hardy for a seven-yard gain but a chop block penalty against running back Devonta Freeman moved the ball back to the 25-yard line. The Falcons overcame that setback when Ryan completed consecutive passes to Tamme, the second one for a seven-yard TD.
The Falcons had some other costly penalties in the first half.
An off-side call against pass rusher Vic Beasley negated a third-down stop in the first quarter. Later in the period, a holding call against Julio Jones washed out a six-yard run on first down by Freeman and prompted the Falcons to use a shotgun formation on first-and-16; a bad snap by center Mike Person led to a fumble recovery by the Bucs.
In the second quarter, a pass interference penalty against Falcons tight end Levine Toilolo negated a nine-yard pass to Freeman to the Tampa Bay 40-yard line with about two minutes before halftime. The ball was moved back to the Falcons’ 41-yard line, and three plays later Ryan threw an interception.
The Bucs had a penalty wipe out a big defensive stop in the first quarter.
Linebacker Kwon Alexander intercepted Matt Ryan’s pass in the end zone and returned it 93 yards all the way to Atlanta’s 11-yard line. But defensive end Jacquies Smith had jumped off sides before the snap, thus nullifying the play.
Three plays later Matt Bryant kicked a 21-yard field goal to give the Falcons a 3-0 lead.
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