Atlanta Falcons Tied with Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Halftime; Where's Bijan Robinson?
The lead of the NFC South remains up for grabs as the Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers are tied 10-10 at halftime in Sunday's contest inside Raymond-James Stadium.
For the second consecutive week, Atlanta scored a touchdown on its opening drive, turning good field position after a fourth-down stop near midfield into an eight-play, 58-yard scoring drive.
Falcons quarterback Desmond Ridder did the honors, running in a read option from two yards out to take an early 7-0 lead. Ridder had a solid first 30 minutes, going 11 of 14 for 132 yards - but a late fumble blurred his overall showing.
The Buccaneers responded, with quarterback Baker Mayfield leading a seven-play, 67-yard drive capped off by a 40-yard touchdown pass to receiver Mike Evans.
Punts from both sides ensued, followed by a pair of short field goals from kickers Younghoe Koo and Chase McLaughlin.
Atlanta closed the half with a strong five-minute drive, marching 64 yards on 11 plays ... but the 12th play was a strip sack on Ridder by Buccaneers pass rushers Shaq Barrett and Calijah Kancey, thwarting a scoring opportunity and keeping the score knotted at 10.
The biggest mystery surrounding Atlanta's offense is the usage of star rookie running back Bijan Robinson, who didn't receive a touch in the first half.
Desmond Ridder hands off to Tyler Allgeier in the first half of the Atlanta Falcons' game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
USA Today Sports
The Falcons were led on the ground by Tyler Allgeier with 26 yards on seven carries, while Cordarrelle Patterson added 25 yards on six carries. Tight end Jonnu Smith started strong, catching three passes for 27 yards on the first drive, while receiver Drake London made three receptions for 33 yards.
Scotty Miller hauled in Atlanta's longest play of the season, a 46-yard pass from Ridder to set up the team's touchdown.
The Falcons will get the ball to start the second half, looking to get a key midseason road victory and take hold of the NFC South.
