In a game marred by several blunders, the Falcons were defeated by the lowly Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23-20 in overtime before 70,524 disappointed fans at the Georgia Dome on Sunday.
Falcons coach Dan Quinn said he wants his team to be “the best fundamental team in football.” The Falcons came up woefully short of that standard as they committed four turnovers and continue to misfire in the red zone.
“Part of our motto of finishing is doing right longer,” Quinn said. “That caught up with us today when we were not able to that.”
Tampa Bay’s Connor Barth made a 31-yard field goal in overtime and the Falcons’ offense stalled.
“When you turn the ball over four times, you’re going to get beat,” Falcons wide receiver Roddy White said.
Here’s are the five things we learned:
1. Turnovers. The Falcons wasted two trips inside Tampa Bay's 5-yard line in the first half. All they could manage was a 21-yard field goal by Matt Bryant. The Falcons had two fumbles and an interception. All three of the first-half turnovers led to points for Tampa Bay.
Quinn preaches taking care of the football, but Pro Bowl wide receiver Julio Jones had the ball taken away from him by Tampa Bay linebacker Kwon Alexander, center Mike Person skidded a shot gun snap off the turf, quarterback Matt Ryan’s pass intended for tight end Jacob Tamme was intercepted by Alexander and Ryan botched a handoff to Devonta Freeman.
“That was on me,” Ryan said.
2. Red zone woes: The Falcons drove to Tampa Bay's 3 and 4 on their first and third possessions of the game, but could only muster a field goal. On the third possession, Person's had the poor snap that Ryan should have just recovered.
The knock on Falcons coordinator Kyle Shanahan’s offense was that it bogs down inside the red zone. After a hot start, the Falcons have been thwarted in the red zone and have been committing turnovers.
After the first four games, the Falcons were 10 of 14 scoring (80 percent) touchdowns in the red zone. The Falcons are 7 of 16 (43.7 percent) over the past four games.
In five of his seven years as a coordinator, Shanahan's units finished in the lower half of the league in red-zone percentage with rankings of 26th, 12th, 19th, 29th, fourth, tied for 20th and 24th.
3. Snapping the ball. For the second game this season, the Falcons had trouble with the quarterback and center exchange.
Person’s wayward shotgun snap cost the Falcons a chance for at least three points. The Falcons had a second-and-goal at the 4 in the second quarter when Person’s snap was low and to the left of Ryan, who couldn’t handle it.
Neither Ryan nor Freeman could recover the ball as it bounced away. Bucs defensive end Jacquies Smith scooped it up and returned it to the 22. The Bucs converted that turnover into a 23-yard field goal by Barth that put them ahead 6-3 with 3:32 until halftime.
4. Freeman held in check. Freeman, who had three consecutive 100-yard games, was held to 88 yards on 21 carries through regulation.
5. Secondary hit hard. The Falcons, who were without starting safety William Moore because of a groin injury, finished the game with three-fourths of the starters out after cornerbacks Desmond Trufant (lower back) and Robert Alford (groin) left the game. Phillips Adams and Jalen Collins finished the game at cornerback. Ricardo Allen and Kemal Ishmael were the safeties.
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