The Atlanta Falcons opened this game with the ball on offense, and much like the New Orleans Saints did against the Bucs last week, marched down the field on Tampa’s defense and were able to get an early score. The Bucs defense performed relatively well, but a big pass play up the middle from quarterback Matt Ryan to tight end Jaeden Graham for 51 yards was enough to get them within field goal range. That opened the scoring at 3-0.

When the Bucs received the ball on their first offensive possession, they opened the game up with a nice 11-yard run by running back Ronald Jones. But when quarterback Jameis Winston dropped back for his first pass, things didn’t go as well. Winston targeted wide receiver Mike Evans with his first pass, but it was cut off by the Falcons’ cornerback and taken away for an interception.

Thankfully the Bucs defense was able to hold firm against the Falcons this time around, and didn’t yield any points following the turnover. After being pinned deep within their own territory, Winston was ale to scramble for a first down to give them some breathing room. A few plays later Winston unleashed a 71-yard touchdown bomb to wide receiver Chris Godwin to take their first lead of the game at 7-3.

The Bucs once again forced the Falcons to punt on their next drive, but though that was a welcomed familiar sight, the one of Winston throwing his second interception of the game wasn’t. With a very short field after the second Tampa Bay turnover of the day, the Falcons were able to travel the full 19 yards in six plays to regain the lead 10-7.

Following the Falcons score, Tampa and Atlanta would trade punts before Winston and Godwin got going once again. On a drive that feature three catches by the standout receiver, Winston hit Godwin for 22, 30 and finally one yard, the final one ending in six points and 13-10 lead.

After yet another Falcons punt, the Bucs took their time to travel 95 yards in 11 plays, which bled all but 40 seconds off the clock in the first half. Winston was finally able to get things going with Evans, who cross the 1,000-yard mark on the season, giving him six straight 1,000-yard seasons to start his career. After another big throw and catch to Godwin to get them into the red zone, the Bucs found themselves on the goal line. As he had in previous weeks, Bucs defensive tackle Vita Vea came into the game and was declared an eligible receiver. But instead of blocking like he usually did, Vea went out for a pass and caught a touchdown himself. After yet another failed extra point, the Bucs took the lead 19-10, and took that score int the half.

The Bucs received the ball to open the second half, and made quick work of the Falcons defense on a 9-play, 75-yard drive. It started and ended with running back Ronald Jones, who gained 25 yards on a big play to get the team within striking distance and then capped the drive off himself with a 4-yard score. That brought the game to a 25-10 lead in favor of the Buccaneers.

To this point in the game, Godwin and Evans had gone over the 1,000-yard mark on the season, Vea caught a touchdown, Ronald Jones was looking good. Now it was the defenses turn to stand out. They did that in the form of an incredible interception by cornerback Carlton Davis, the first of his NFL career.

Unfortunately the Bucs weren’t able to get anything going off the turnover, and after four plays they were forced to punt. In response, the Falcons orchestrated a long drive of 13 plays, but only traveled 39 yards. That was still good enough for a field goal, though, and they were able to chip away at Tampa’s lead, bringing the score to 25-13.

On the Bucs’ next drive, they, too, were able control the ball well, traveling 62 yards in eight plays to get within field goal range themselves to answer Atlanta’s three points with three of their own. The score then showed 28-13.

After a 13-play drive on their previous possession, the Falcons took their time with yet another 13-play drive, both ending in the same result of three points. There weren’t many big plays on the drive, though an 18-yard pass from Ryan to receiver Calvin Ridley did get them within striking distance. That brought us to a 12-point game at 28-16.

Over the next two drives, one for each team, both offenses stalled and were forced to punt after just a few plays. When the Bucs got the ball back they were able to have a bit more success, but were ultimately forced to punt again, too, after just five plays. As the Falcons began their drive, things went from bad to worse on their end when an incomplete pass gave way to a fumble lost which was then scooped and scored for a touchdown by Tampa Bay. That brought the score to 35-16 in favor of the visitors.

Following the lost fumble, the Falcons had seen enough of Matt Ryan and quarterback Matt Schaub was brought into the game. Schaub drove the Falcons down into Buccaneer territory, and on a fourth down play where the game was on the line, delivered a beautiful ball to Ridley for a touchdown. After a failed 2-point conversion, the score showed 35-22.

And that is how the game would end, a victorious finish for the visiting Tampa Bay Buccaneers.