Overshadowed in Week 1 by defensive standouts Kwon Alexander and Gerald McCoy was Bucs safety Chris Conte, who was the last line of defense on two touchdown-saving tackles in Atlanta on Sunday.
In the first quarter, Matt Ryan hit Mohammed Sanu on a sideline route for 59 yards to the Tampa Bay 16-yard line. At the time, Conte’s save didn’t seem like much to celebrate about – but it was pivotal. The Falcons didn’t gain a yard from there and had to settle for a 34-yard field goal, tying the game at three.
The tackle saved four points early on, and as coach Dirk Koetter reiterated Monday, “that’s a win” for the defense in the red zone. Conte, who had 10 tackles in all, gave the defense a chance to make that stand.
“Chris is one of those guys that doesn’t say much, doesn’t get a whole lot of publicity because you’ve got other superstar-type guys on defense. But Chris does his job,” Koetter said. “I thought him and [safety] Bradley McDougald both were really solid (Sunday).
“We’ve been talking to these guys a lot about, ‘Make your plays, make your plays.’ When it’s your time to make a play, make it.’ And for the most part, we did a pretty good job of that yesterday.”
Conte wasn’t done making unsung plays in the 31-24 division win. In the second quarter, with the game tied at 10, Ryan hit Tevin Coleman on a check down that turned into a 47-yard catch and run to the Bucs 10-yard line. Conte made the last-ditch effort to save a touchdown and a 17-10 lead. Five plays later the Falcons kicked a short field goal, one drive before Tampa Bay reclaimed momentum with a touchdown to end the half.
Hindsight is 20/20. Looking back now it’s easy to recognize Conte’s saves were more significant after the fact, as the Bucs offense went into the tunnel with a lead and kept the pressure on in the third quarter.
The sixth-year safety is an all-around defensive back, according to the Bucs coach.
“Chris is a really good athlete,” Koetter said. “When you guys were out there in training camp and you watch one-on-one [drills], if you just didn’t have jerseys on there and body types, Chris covers like a corner. He really is a fluid athlete.”
