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Brady throws for 368 yards, 4 TDs; Buccaneers beat Falcons 30-17

By AP News Staff
Published  December 5, 2021 4:38pm EST
Sports
Associated Press

ATLANTA, Ga. - The Bucs (9-3) won their third straight game and pushed their division lead to four games over Atlanta, Carolina and New Orleans (all 5-7) with five games remaining.

Brady improved to 10-0 in his career against the Falcons, including four straight wins over the last two seasons since moving from New England to Tampa Bay.

The prolific duo has combined for 90 regular-season TDs, passing Phillip Rivers and Antonio Gates for No. 2 in NFL history. Only Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison have more, hooking up for 112 scoring passes.

The Bucs came out throwing. For the first time since 2004, they passed the ball on their first 13 plays of a game — accounting for the entire 75-yard touchdown drive on their opening possession.

Brady completed 11 passes on the drive, including a 6-yard throw to Leonard Fournette on fourth-and-4 at the Atlanta 38. The two hooked up again for

The Falcons answered with a touchdown drive of their own, doing most of their damage on the ground.

Tampa Bay finally ran the ball on the first play of its next possession, but again it was Brady's arm that accounted for most of the production on another 75-yard touchdown drive.

He went to Chris Godwin for 25 yards and Mike Evans for 36 yards to set up another 3-yard scoring pass, this one to Cameron Brate. A missed extra point left the Bucs with a 13-7 lead.

Atlanta squandered a chance to pull ahead, settling for a field goal after having first-and-goal from inside the 1. Ryan lost a couple of yards falling on a bobbled snap, sandwiched around a pair of incompletions that forced the Falcons to send in Younghoe Koo for a 21-yard field goal.

Brady's 27-yard TD to Gronkowski had the Bucs on the verge of a blowout.

But Tampa Bay got greedy near the end of the half, sending the Falcons to a locker room on quite a high after Davidson's pick-6.

INJURY REPORT

Buccaneers: CB Jamel Dean was knocked out of the game with a concussion. RB Ronald Jones had to come out because of an illness.

Falcons: S Richie Grant and LB Adetokunbo Ogundeji both hobbled off the field with ankle injuries.

UP NEXT

Buccaneers: Return home next Sunday to face AFC powerhouse Buffalo.

Falcons: Travel to Charlotte next Sunday to face the Carolina Panthers in another NFC South game.

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SportsTampa Bay Buccaneers