Outside of a few die-hard Falcons fans, not many people expected Atlanta to upset the betting Super Bowl favorites on Sunday. This was the culmination of a better team, game plan, and execution. The Buccaneers revealed the limitations of this Falcons team, which is very much in the midst of a rebuild, regardless of the stage. Arthur Smith’s squad has been able to beat the bad teams but clearly can’t beat the good ones.
The Falcons ran for over 100 yards, continuing the recent success in that area. Matt Ryan also threw for nearly 300 yards, but a combination of mistakes and inferiority in most facets led to a 13-point home loss. If Atlanta didn’t have a Thick Six from Marlon Davidson, it could’ve been much worse too. Aside from the lone interception, Tom Brady looked incredible. Father time has never fought a battle this hard, and the Greatest of all Time has staved off the inevitable fate that every professional athlete faces.
Brady’s performance on Sunday was magnificent, finishing with a 74.5% completion percentage on 51 attempts for 368 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. His impressive effort gave the Bucs their first consecutive season sweep of the Falcons since Tampa joined the NFC South. The Falcons had struggled against Brady long before he came to the division, though; in fact, his performance on Sunday was a microcosm of Brady’s career against the Falcons.
Falcons fans should thank the football gods for having mercy and also Marlon Davidson for intercepting Brady because this fan base can’t take much more. A 28-3 all-time touchdown to interception ratio might actually break this fan base. Really, though, Brady has absolutely dominated Atlanta regardless of who he’s playing with. The Falcons are further away from the playoffs than their record might indicate, and the coaching staff hasn’t inspired much optimism for the team’s future.
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