The Falcons improved to 9-5 with the 24-21 victory over the Buccaneers before a crowd of 62,382 at Raymond James Stadium on Monday.
The Falcons are one game behind the Panthers (10-4) and Saints (10-4) in the NFC South with two games to play.
Here’s what Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan had to say after the game:
On what the win over Tampa Bay means: "It's huge for us. Obviously, the second time that you play an opponent in the season, it's always difficult. But it was a big win for us to come on the road and get the job done. I thought we battled really hard, offense, defense and special teams. I thought we ran the ball extremely well tonight. I thought our offensive line played great. We made enough plays to get it done. It keeps us right where we want to be. Now, we have to find a way to get better this week and try and get a win next Sunday down in New Orleans."
On Devonta Freeman's play: "I thought Devonta (Freeman) played extremely well. I thought the run game was very solid. He ran the ball extremely physically, too. He was downhill finishing runs. Wearing out the defense. That was cool to see. I thought Terron (Ward) did a great job as well in the run game. But Devonta is a special player. He really is. Some nights guys become the featured guy of the game and I thought tonight he was that for us. He did a great job in the passing game and a great job in the run game."
On taking away Julio Jones: "Certainly, they had to account for where Julio was at and they had some over the top help which opens it up for the run game. I thought our offensive line was the difference makers. They were physical up front. The push at the line of scrimmage were excellent and we stuck with it. That was the key for us tonight."
On the playoff picture: "We're right where we need to be at this point of the season. Two games to go in the regular season. We have to find a way to get back to work and try and improve and make sure that we can play the best that we are capable of playing to try and get a win. That's really all that our focus needs to be about. If we are worrying about anything else, you are not as locked in as you need to be."
On if ihe made his best move while running the ball: "It might be. Certainly, probably in the NFL. I had a pretty good one on Thomas Davis a couple of years ago. It was more of a pump fake, so that doesn't really count. There really aren't many of them. I can count maybe one or two or three where I've been able to make people miss."
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