The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-10) were only seconds away from their second victory of the season, but the Atlanta Falcons (6-5) came from behind and scored with only 23 seconds left to win the game.  Josh Freeman had the best game of his short career for the Bucs, going 20/29 for 250 yards and 2 touchdowns.  They were mediocre on the ground though, getting only 73 yards on 26 carries as a team, but it was the defense that could not get the job done when it was needed most.

Falcons’ quarterback Matt Ryan and their top running back Michael Turner both left the game due to injuries.  Without those two players the Falcons are just not the same, and the Bucs were almost able to steal the win because of it.  They did not do a good enough job against the Falcons’ backup quarterback, Chris Redman.  Redman threw for 243 yards and 2 touchdowns on 23/41 passes.  The special teams came up big when Corey Lynch blocked a punt that set the table for the Bucs  3rd quarter touchdown and gave them the lead.  They were able to hold onto that lead until the Falcons’ final drive, when Redman hit Roddy White for the game winning touchdown.

The Bucs must have irked the Saints after they scored first in this game because they destroyed the Bucs the rest of the way.  QB Josh Freeman finally looked like a rookie QB today as he completed 17 of 33 passes for 126 yards with 1 TD pass and 3 INTs.  He also carried the ball 2 times for 30 yards (15.0 ypc) today but he also lost a fumble.  Overall, Freeman had a day to forget.  Cadillac Williams led the way for the Bucs today with 32 yards rushing on 11 carries (2.9 ypc).  Earnest Graham only carried the ball 3 times but he got 31 yards (10.3 ypc) and he also caught 3 passes for 16 yards (5.3 avg).  Derrick Ward rushed for 26 yards on 7 carries (3.7 ypc) today and he also caught 3 passes for 14 yards (4.7 avg).  Antonio Bryant led the way in the passing game for the Bucs today with 40 yards on 3 catches (13.3 avg).  TE Kellen Winslow pitched in with 5 catches for 29 yards (5.8 avg) today.  The Buccaneers could only muster 219 total yards on offense in this game (119 rushing, 100 passing) and that’s just not good enough to get the job done.

The defense had another long day for the Bucs today.  LB Barrett Ruud led the way for the Bucs’ D today with 10 tackles and 1 pass defensed.  CB Ronde Barber pitched in with 6 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and 1 pass defensed.  The Saints finished up with 370 total yards on offense (183 rushing, 187 passing) in this game.  The Buccaneers are now 1-9 on the season.

The Buccaneers lost a heartbreaker as they took the lead 23-22 with 1:14 seconds left in the game but then the defense gave up the game.  Josh Freeman had another solid game as he completed 16 of 28 passes for 196 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT.  He also carried the ball 7 times for 36 yards (5.1 ypc) earlier today.  One area that Freeman has to do a better job of is holding onto the football as he fumbled 4 times today (losing 1).  Cadillac Williams led the way on the ground for the Bucs in this game with 52 yards rushing on 14 carries (3.7 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Derrick Ward pitched in with 34 yards rushing on only 10 carries (3.4 ypc) today.  Kellen Winslow led the way in the passing game for the Bucs today with 7 catches for 102 yards (14.6 avg).  WR Maurice Stovall pitched in with 4 catches for 47 yards (11.8 avg) with a TD grab.  The Buccaneers finished up with 302 total yards on offense (122 rushing, 180 passing)  in this game.

The Bucs’ D was pretty awful as usual in this game.  Safeties Tanard Jackson and Sabby Piscitelli led the way for the Bucs in this game with 9 tackles apiece.  Linebacker Quincy Black pitched in for the Bucs with 7 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception today.  The Dolphins finished up with 374 total yards in this game (199 rushing, 175 passing) today.  The Buccaneers are now 1-8 on the season.

The Buccaneers pretty much had everything go right in this football game and the result was their first win of the season.  Josh Freeman was outstanding in his first NFL start his career.  He completed 14 of 31 passes for 205 yards with 3 TD passes and 1 INT.  He also carried the football 4 times for 20 yards (5.0 ypc) in this game.  Cadillac Williams led the way on the ground in this game with 56 yards on 16 carries (3.5 ypc).  Derrick Ward only rushed for 5 yards on 4 carries (1.3 ypc) in this game but he also caught 3 passes for 54 yards (18.0 avg) with a TD grab.  TE Kellen Winslow (4 rec, 57 yards, TD), WR Maurice Stovall (3 rec, 46 yards) and WR Sammie Stroughter (3 rec, 19 yards, TD) all pitched in to help Freeman in the passing game in his first NFL start.  The Buccaneers finished up with 279 total yards on offense (81 rushing, 198 passing) in this game despite only having possession of the ball for 24:43.

The Bucs’ D gave up a ton of yards in this game giving up 404 total yards (170 rushing, 234 passing) but they made a lot of big game changing plays.  CB Elbert Mack made the first big play of this game for the Bucs on D as he intercepted a Aaron Rodgers pass in the first quarter and he returned it 36 yards to set up a very short field for the offense.  The Bucs scored a TD on that drive.  Safety Tanard Jackson finished up with 6 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and a pass defensed but Jackson’s biggest play was a interception late in the 4th quarter that he returned 35 yards for the game sealing TD.  CB Aqib Talib (3 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception) and LB Geno Hayes (7 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss) also pitched in on the defense.  The Buccaneers also had six sacks which got Rodgers nervous in the pocket getting him to make some big mistakes.

The special teams also played a huge role in this win for the Bucs.  CB Ronde Barber returned a blocked punt 31 yards for a TD.  Clifton Smith also was giving the offense short fields to work with as he returned 4 punts for 54 yards (13.5 avg) and 2 kickoffs for 107 yards (53.5 avg).  The Buccaneers are now 1-7 on the year with this outstanding win over a decent Packers’ football team.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers traveled all the way to Wembley Stadium in London, England to get embarrassed by the New England Patriots.  At least they did not lose as bad as the Tennessee Titans did last week to the Patriots (59-0).  Josh Johnson had a terrible game for the Buccaneers, as the quarterback was picked off three times in this contest, including the fifth play of the game.  The Patriots’ Brandon Merriweather jumped a slant rout, intercepting Johnson and taking it 39 yards for the first score of the game.  Johnson went 9/26 for 156 yards, with three interceptions and one touchdown before being benched in the 4th quarter.  Josh Freeman replaced him and went 2/4 for 16 yards in garbage time.  The running game was much better than the passing game, but that isn’t saying much.  They got a mediocre 77 yards on 24 carries (3.2 avg) combined from Derrick Ward and Cadillac Williams.

The Buccaneers defense could not stop the big plays from happening, and had a really hard time stopping the Brady-Wes Welker connection.  Welker had 10 catches for 107 yards and a touchdown.  The Bucs gave up a 54-yard touchdown, a 35-yard touchdown, and 37-yard reception by Randy Moss to set up Wes Welker’s touchdown, and a 20-yard run from back-up QB Brian Hoyer.  The Bucs will never win a game if they keep giving up that many big plays in a game. Josh Johnson does not seem to be the answer for the Bucs at quarterback, so another QB change could be coming for the Bucs.  They have a bye this week to try and figure that situation out.