{"id":292719,"date":"2023-10-22T23:24:34","date_gmt":"2023-10-22T23:24:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/?p=292719"},"modified":"2023-10-22T23:24:34","modified_gmt":"2023-10-22T23:24:34","slug":"falcons-improbable-win-over-buccaneers-emblematic-of-state-of-unsightly-nfc-south","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/nfl\/falcons-improbable-win-over-buccaneers-emblematic-of-state-of-unsightly-nfc-south\/","title":{"rendered":"Falcons' improbable win over Buccaneers emblematic of state of unsightly NFC South"},"content":{"rendered":"

TAMPA, Fla. — This is the state of competition in the NFC South in the post-Tom Brady era: the team whose quarterback threw three second-half interceptions last week, and fumbled three times in the red zone this week, won Sunday to seize first place in the division.<\/p>\n

As Brady’s career waned last season, his team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, crawled into the playoffs, winning the South with an 8-9 record before getting blown out by the Cowboys during Super Wild Card Weekend. Given the division that Brady left behind, that outcome should look good right now, not just to the Bucs, who lost to the Atlanta Falcons, 16-13, on Sunday. It should look good to everybody else in the NFL’s most unsightly division, including the Falcons, who, with the victory, are 4-3, and 2-0 against division opponents, which gives them a considerable advantage in a division where there isn’t anything close to a dominant, or even predictable, team.<\/p>\n

In nearly any other division, and any other scenario, there would be calls for quarterback Desmond Ridder to lose his job. Instead, Falcons head coach Arthur Smith was lauding the big throws Ridder made that led to the Falcons’ improbable win, and the locker room was loud and happy.<\/p>\n

“Week 7, we’ll take it,” Smith said. “We’ve got work to do.”<\/p>\n

So does everyone else. If you didn’t know that someone wanted to win this game, you would not have been convinced by watching it. Ridder’s three fumbles — including one that resulted in a touchback — kept the Falcons from what should have been an easy win over a Bucs team whose offense is slumping. The Bucs had a fumble and an interception. The teams combined for 18 penalties. The Bucs running game is so non-existent that they got their season-long run from Baker Mayfield, for 31 yards. Outside of that, they averaged just 2.2 yards per rush, which led to a desperate plea from a Bucs fan on the team’s final drive: “Stop running the ball.” And with a chance to take the lead, they managed only a tying field goal with under a minute remaining despite having first-and-goal from the 8-yard line. That, too, was a theme. The Falcons were only 1 of 5 in the red zone. The Bucs were 0 of 2.<\/p>\n

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