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Buccaneers’ Third-Down Defense Did the Dirty Work in Win Over Falcons
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- Buccaneers’ Third-Down Defense Did the Dirty Work in Win Over Falcons
(IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
Usually, when an NFL team records a shutout, the defense gets an overwhelming majority of the attention.
That hasn't been the case after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Atlanta Falcons 16-0 in Week 8 to move within a half-game of first place in the NFC South.
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As you may have heard, the Bucs became the first team in over 50 years to win a game without completing a single pass.
Running backs Bucky Irving and Kenny Gainwell were deservedly touted as the heroes of Tampa Bay's victory. Both set new career highs against Atlanta. Irving finished with 170 rushing yards on 27 carries and scored the Bucs' only touchdown . Gainwell added 140 yards on his 25 rushes
It was the first time since 1978 that a team had two players each get 25+ carries since the Chicago Bears did so with Walter Payton and Roland Harper (against the Bucs).
Despite earning a shutout, the Bucs' defensive effort has somewhat been lost in the shuffle.
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While credit has been given for recording four interceptions, two by linebacker Alex Anzalone and one each from cornerbacks Zyon McCollum and Jacob Parrish, it was Tampa's third-down that did the dirty work against the Falcons.
Atlanta finished the game 0-for-12 on third downs, only the fifth time in franchise history the Bucs didn't allow a third-down conversion.
As Bucs reporter Scott Smith highlighted , it wasn't just that the defense stopped the Falcons on third down; it was how they stopped the Falcons on third down.
Defense Stopped The Great Bijan Robinson
Tampa Bay's run defense has been terrific all season, but it faced its toughest test yet against Atlanta's superstar running back Bijan Robinson.
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Tampa's defense was up to the task, holding Robinson in check all afternoon.
While Robinson finished with a respectable 76 rushing yards on 19 carries, the Bucs held the dual-threat back without a catch for the first time all season.
But it was Tampa's work against Robinson on third downs that earned the Bucs the shutout, and, most importantly, the win.
Of Atlanta's 12 third downs, it needed three yards or less on six of them.
With a back like Robinson, that should easily be an advantage for the Falcons, yet the Bucs' defense didn't allow him, or anyone else, to convert a single one.
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"[We were] just determined to get off the field," said Head Coach Todd Bowles. "We knew what kind of game it was. It was going to come right at you. It was either us or them, so that kind of made it pretty simple."
As Smith noted, Tampa Bay's defense got to Robinson behind the line of scrimmage throughout the game, making life miserable for one of the league's best offensive players, and it did so without YaYa Diaby for much of the game.
"It was a disciplined and across-the-board effort by the Bucs' defense, after it lost one if its best run-stoppers in Yaya Diaby to a first-half knee injury. The defense rarely gave Robinson much of a seam to exploit and on average he was first hit 0.9 yards behind the line of scrimmage. He was hit behind the line of scrimmage on 78.9% of his carries, his highest figure in a game this season, and he also had his lowest missed-tackle forced rate (10.5%) of the season."
Final Thoughts
Sunday's game against the Falcons showcased just how dominant the Bucs' defense can be.
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In the NFL, games are often won both in the trenches and on third down. So much so that saying either has become a cliché.
Cliché or not, the Bucs proved both are true, and the defense's ability to not only get off the field, but also stop one of the NFL's best running backs, won the game.
The defense will have another opportunity to prove its worth when the Bucs go on the road to take on the Bears and Ben Johnson's high-powered offense in Week 9 on Sunday Night Football.
