Lynch blocks punt for Bucs in 20-17 loss
ATLANTA (AP) – The Falcons saved their season. For now.
Backup quarterback Chris Redman threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Roddy White with 23 seconds remaining Sunday, and Atlanta pulled out a 20-17 victory over the woeful Tampa Bay Buccaneers after offensive stars Matt Ryan and Michael Turner went down with injuries.
“We couldn’t afford to lose this one,” White said. “It’s a good thing Chris came in there and did what he had to do to win this game.”
Will it last? That likely depends on how long Ryan, Turner and starting offensive linemen Harvey Dahl and Sam Baker are out. All left the game with injuries, and the Falcons wouldn’t say how serious they are.
Ryan, the second-year quarterback, hurt his big right toe on Atlanta’s very first series. Turner reinjured his right ankle during the third quarter, a high sprain that had kept the running back out of the previous game and limited him in practice.
A blocked punt by Cape Coral’s Corey Lynch set up Josh Freeman’s 8-yard touchdown pass to Carnell Williams early in the third quarter, putting the Bucs ahead 17-10. It almost held up.
“You’ve got to make that last play at the end of the game,” cornerback Aqib Talib said.
Having already lost four of five, the Falcons (6-5) were in deep trouble after Jason Elam missed another field goal try – maybe his last in Atlanta – and the woeful Bucs (1-10) drove into Atlanta territory, but Connor Barth was just off target on a 51-yard attempt with 2:30 left, giving the Falcons one more chance with no timeouts. Redman calmly directed a 59-yard drive that gave the Falcons a win they absolutely had to have, considering the next two games are against Philadelphia and unbeaten New Orleans.
On fourth-and-goal at the 5, Redman hit White on a slant coming over the middle while cornerback Derrick Roberson made a futile swipe at the ball.
While White was mobbed in the end zone by teammates Gonzalez and Eric Weeks, Tampa Bay coach Raheem Morris kneeled down in disbelief.
The embattled Morris had taken over defensive playcalling duties earlier in the week after demoting coordinator Jim Bates. The move nearly paid immediate dividends. Instead, the Bucs had another crushing loss in a season filled with them.
“We were a 1-9 team, and now we’re a 1-10 team,” Morris said. “It’s never a step forward when you lose.”