The Atlanta Falcons defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 34-20 last Sunday and ended our season, for good. While Fitzpatrick did not play terrible, he missed Wide Receivers on multiple occasions that could have led to great plays and to keeping us in the game. He played well enough to keep us in the game and not embarrass ourselves against one of the NFL’s hottest teams at the moment. In what might have been his last start as a Buccaneer, Fitzpatrick passed for 283 yards and no score, did not make major mistakes either, however. Our running game was not working, once again. To make matters even worse, Running Back Doug Martin was forced to leave the game with a concussion. In addition to that, several offensive linemen left the game due to injuries and Tampa Bay’s offensive line is looking very thin at the moment.
Defensively, we could not contain star Wide Receiver Julio Jones at all. Robert McClain filled in for the injured Vernon Hargreaves and played man-to-man against Jones for most of the game. Putting our best Cornerback Brent Grimes on Jones would certainly have worked out better. Jones ended up having a career game with 12 receptions, 253 yards and two Touchdowns. Rookie Linebacker Kendall Beckwith forced a crucial fumble at the end of the game in our own red zone with Atlanta leading by seven. The Bucs had a chance to tie the game late in the fourth quarter. We went for it on 4th & 1 but Fitzpatrick did not find his Receiver on a passing play.
Next up is a cold matchup in Wisconsin against Green Bay.
