Falcons 45, Buccaneers 24
Playing with a chance to improve their playoff seeding, Matt Ryan and the Falcons walloped Tampa Bay Buccaneers 45-24 on Sunday in a record-setting day at Atlanta.
Ryan threw two touchdown passes as Atlanta scored the first 42 points, all in the first-half, in the regular-season finale laugher.
With the win, coupled with Detroit’s loss at Green Bay, the Falcons (10-6) claimed the No. 5 seed in the NFC playoffs and will play at the New York Giants on Sunday.
The Falcons shredded the Bucs’ porous defense. Jacquizz Rodgers opened the scoring with a 1-yard run on their first possession. Ryan then hit Jones on scoring passes of 17 and 48 yards on their next two possessions as the Falcons dealt Tampa Bay its 10th straight loss.
Michael Turner continued the onslaught with a 1-yard run in the second quarter to make it 28-0, and Turner later scored on an 81-yard run and set one of Atlanta’s records on the day.
Ryan (6 of 9 passing, 106 yards) broke Jeff George’s mark for passing yards on the season and Jones set the team’s rookie record for touchdown receptions in the season.
Turner finished with 172 yards on 17 carries and became the Falcons’ all-time leader in career touchdowns with 50.
The Falcons pulled most of their starters at the half and Tampa Bay (4-12) scored 24 unanswered points, getting a pair of touchdown passes from Josh Freeman.