Falcon Report

Falcons Finish Season on High, Beat Tom Brady's Bucs in Atlanta

Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers couldn't grab a win against the Atlanta Falcons Sunday.

Jeremy Brener

The Atlanta Falcons (7-10) made history in more ways than one Sunday afternoon against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-9).

Perhaps the most important milestone came with the Falcons winning 30-17, their first win in 12 meetings against Tom Brady.

With nothing to gain, the Bucs sat Brady just before the end of the first half, where the game was tied at 10.

The Bucs scored a touchdown just before halftime to take a 17-10 lead, but it was all Falcons in the second half.

Atlanta scored 20 unanswered points in the second half with touchdowns from Olamide Zaccheaus and Cordarrelle Patterson and a pair of field goals from Younghoe Koo.

However, the Falcons rookie class still accomplished a couple of milestones.

At the quarterback position, Desmond Ridder broke a personal milestone, throwing his first two NFL touchdowns. He finishes the season 2-2 as a starter and a case to be the man for the starting job next season. This was arguably his best showing in four games as a starter, throwing for 224 yards.

At the receiver spot, No. 8 overall pick Drake London surpassed teammate Kyle Pitts for the most receptions for a rookie. London's six catches for 120 yards gave him 72 on the season, a new franchise record. His 120 yards marked his first 100-yard game as a pro.

And at running back, fifth-round pick Tyler Allgeier broke the rookie record for rushing yards. With 135 rushing yards, Allgeier was four shy of a career-best, but it pushed him to 1,035 on the season, breaking a record that stood for 43 years.

So while the Falcons are going home without a playoff berth for a fifth consecutive season, there's a lot of optimism in Atlanta going into the offseason, with hope that the postseason drought will end in 2023.

Follow Jeremy Brener on Twitter @JeremyBrener.

Get your HOTlanta Falcons game tickets from SI Tickets ... here!

Want the latest in breaking news and insider information on the Falcons? Click Here.

Follow Falcon Report on Twitter.

Want even more Atlanta Falcons news? Check out the SI.com team page here

Published
Jeremy Brener
JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.

Home/News