Buccaneers at Falcons: Highlights, score, and recap

Here are all the highlights, the final score, and a recap of the Atlanta Falcons’ Week 1 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, September 11th.

The Atlanta Falcons and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers saw another exciting game in their budding NFC South rivalry, as the Buccaneers clip the Falcons 31-24 at the Georgia Dome in Week 1 of the 2016 NFL season.

Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston had a fantastic first game of the season, as he was able to stretch the Atlanta secondary with four passing touchdowns. He would find four different receivers for passing touchdowns in this game. His two to wide receiver Mike Evans and tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins exploited Atlanta’s undersized secondary.

The key difference in this game was the Falcons’ inability to run the football on Tampa Bay’s strong defensive front seven. Buccaneers linebacker Kwon Alexander had a game-high 15 tackles on Falcons playmakers.

Atlanta was still able to make plays in the passing game, as Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan had over 300 yards passing, two touchdowns, and no interceptions. Inexperience in the secondary for Atlanta was the difference in this tight NFC South ball game.

Three Stars

1. Jameis Winston: Winston completed 23 of his 33 passes for 281 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception. He continues to thrive in head coach Dirk Koetter’s Air Coryell offense.
2. Matt Ryan: Ryan completed 27 of his 39 passes for 334 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions. He took a beating from a strong Tampa Bay pass rush, be he looked good in Week 1 for the Falcons.
3. Kwon Alexander: Alexander had 15 total tackles, two assists, and a quarterback sack of Ryan. Tampa Bay’s front seven was the difference and Alexander was its best defensive player.

Highlights

Next: Every NFL Team's Best Draft Pick Of All-Time

Next Game

Atlanta travels to the Bay Area to face the AFC West’s Oakland Raiders for a 4:25 PM ET kickoff at O.Co Coliseum on Sunday, September 18th.

Tampa Bay will venture to the Valley of the Sun to face the NFC West’s Arizona Cardinals for a 4:05 PM ET kickoff at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale on Sunday, September 18th.