The Falcons were playing for nothing but pride in Sunday’s game against the Bucs, but it sure didn’t look that way to anyone watching the divisional showdown.
Atlanta jumped out to an early lead right out of the gate, and it took a 17-0 into the break at halftime. But no one knows better than the Falcons that it’s not over against Tom Brady until the final seconds tick off, given that the legendary quarterback mounted a comeback down 28-3 in Super Bowl LI.
Brady and the Bucs coaching staff made some serious adjustments at halftime. Tampa Bay looked like a completely different team, outscoring Atlanta 31-10 in the game’s final two quarters.
But the Bucs sure appeared to benefit from a controversial call to essentially end the game with under a minute remaining. A third-down run by Leonard Fournette sure appeared to be short of the line to gain, and it looked as much when the chains were brought out for a measurement. But an official moved the ball, and it was ruled a first down, enabling the Bucs to kneel in victory formation and emerge victorious.
Falcons fans were quite upset about the dubious spot, and understandably so.
