All things considered Authentic DeSean Jackson Jersey , this loss will sting for a bit when you look back at how close the score was despite the feel of the game rarely warranting a positive feeling as fans watched from afar. The Buccaneers defense dug the team a steep hole in the first half and the offense fought an uphill battle to get back into the game. the second half, only to falter when it mattered most as the Falcons traveled down the field to the tune of 75 yards on a 10 play drive that ate up 5 minutes late in the fourth quarter. The touchdown via Coleman put the Falcons up for good and gave the team a 31-22 lead with 6:28 left to play. The Buccaneers ultimately fell to the Falcons 34-29, leaving another sour taste in the mouths of coaches, players and fans alike. The offense put up points and yards but ultimately failed to deliver some late game fireworks. Jameis Winston had himself a good ball game but two turnovers proved costly. Winston finished the ball game with 395 yards passing to go along with his 4 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. The first interception was an ugly overthrow while under pressure but the second interception despite being a bit of a fluke play given the ball being bounced up for grabs, was avoidable all together if Winston finds Adam Humphries over the middle who was open on the play. It was a very Jameis-like game with ups, downs and some late game heroic opportunities, ultimately it was not enough. Ahem, 395 yards, 4 touchdowns was simply not enough. The running game seemed to get a bit of an adrenaline injection with Winston back at the helm as Peyton Barber had his best game to date totaling 82 yards on the ground at a 6.3 yards per carry clip. Barber added 24 yards on 4 catches including a touchdown reception. Ronald Jones saw some action with a single carry going for 3 yards. The more encouraging sign was the willingness to utilize Jones as a receiver out of the backfield as Jones caught 3 passes for 16 yards hauling in all of his targets in this match-up. The receiving corps did their jobs as is usually the case with 4 receiving at least 4 targets in the game from Jameis. The group was headlined by Chris Godwin and DeSean Jackson who combined for 10 receptions on 18 targets for 133 yards with Godwin finding the end-zone. The tight ends each reached pay dirt as Winston hit Cameron Brate on his lone target for a 15 yard score. O.J. Howard returned from injury and caught all 4 of his targets for 62 yards and a touchdown. The offense moved the ball well and possibly the most encouraging sign of all is despite the success overall, there is still a lot of room for improvement which is scary to think of. The offensive line performed admirably as a whole with the left side really shouldering the load. It was good to see the line open some lanes for Peyton Barber to break out through and the pass protection was solid despite a few breakdowns that affected the first Jameis Winston interception as well as two sacks on the day. The defense again had no answer early on and when it mattered most late. Up front Adam Humphries Jersey , Jason Pierre-Paul went to work and landed the teams 9th sack on the year, his 5th personally. Vita Vea made an impact here and there and otherwise did what he was brought in to do. Gerald McCoy injured what appeared to be his calf and was seen in a walking boot after the game but had a quiet game overall. Curry, Allen and the rest of the defensive line struggled to create any pressure and Matt Ryan took full advantage of the time he had. Ryan managed to start the game off with double digit completions in a row before finally tallying an incompletion.Kwon Alexander and Lavonte David had solid games overall in what turned out to be Kwon’s best game of the season. The two combined for 3 tackles for a loss and 16 tackles in total. While the two helped out in shutting down the Falcon’s rushing attack, there was little aid to be offered in stopping the air assault on this Buccaneer defense. The defensive backs had arguably there worst game of the season which is quite the statement considering the start to the season this defense has had. Wide open receivers were to be found in all levels of the defensive backfield. Evans failed to make a stop short of the goal line on Sanu. Several passes went for 20+ yards again against this defense. Ryan Smith struggled, M.J. Stewart was burned and Brent Grimes again looked every bit of his age in this ballgame. Despite 41 passes being thrown, the defensive backfield combined for zero passes defended and finished yet another game without an interception despite a multitude of passes being tossed. The defensive backfield is currently a cut artery with no sign of surgery to repair it on the way. The not so special teams... again. For a team that has had some kicking woes the last... well since Matt Bryant left the team, there is still no sign of a fix in the near future. Catanzaro missed an extra point but otherwise was able to make the rest. The team can’t seem to get any “automatic” points out of their kickers lately.Rodgers served as the kickoff return man and averaged 15.5 yards a return on his two attempts leaving the Bucs to start from inside their own 25 on both occasions. Jackson showed his shiftiness in making two men miss on his lone punt return that went for 9 yards and Humphries managed 6 yards on his punt return. In the end, there was very little to feel good about on special teams aside from Anger’s lone punt inside the twenty (2 total punts for 81 yards). The Wrap-Up. The Buccaneers cannot continue to play football this way. Turning the ball over simply can’t happen on offense because there is little hope to rely on the defense making a stop when it counts or forcing a turnover. The offense has to be elite in order to win and that’s sadly not a realistic way to win football games. Mike Smith (or somebody else?) needs to figure out a way to at least be below average to help this team win. Right now this team is in for another historically bad season on defense and it’s about to cost the entire staff it’s jobs if something doesn’t change. ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) 鈥?Dak Prescott shared a brief hug with star running back Ezekiel Elliott after the Dallas quarterback kneeled twice to wrap up their second NFC East title in three seasons together.The postgame celebration was equally muted after Prescott accounted for two touchdowns and聽Jaylon Smith returned a fumble 69 yards for a score聽in a 27-20 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.Now it's on to something Prescott and Elliott couldn't do after an NFC-best 13 victories during their remarkable rookie year together in 2016: win a playoff game."We've got a lot more work to do," Prescott said after running for Dallas' first touchdown and throwing a 4-yard pass to Michael Gallup for the last. "This is something that we set out Demar Dotson Jersey , wanted to do way back in the offseason, and this is giving us a chance to go and get the greater goal."Smith's long return came after a scrambling Jameis Winston lost the ball on a blind-side sack by Randy Gregory, who also recovered a fumble to set up a touchdown for a 14-point lead late in the third quarter.The Cowboys (9-6) clinched their third division title in five seasons a week after failing in their first chance with their first shutout loss in 15 years, 23-0 at Indianapolis.It was a moment of redemption for Elliott, whose six-game suspension over domestic violence allegations last year came just as the Cowboys were playing their best. The ensuing three-game losing streak ultimately kept them out of the playoffs."We can't get comfortable," said Elliott, who had 85 yards rushing. "We can't afford to take a week off next week. We've got to keep working and make sure we're ready for the playoffs."Winston threw for 336 yards in another prolific passing game for the Buccaneers (5-10), who outgained the Cowboys 383 yards to 232 but hurt themselves with turnovers and holding penalties. Tampa Bay's third straight loss clinched the franchise's fifth season of at least 10 losses in the past six years, a week after the Bucs were eliminated from postseason contention."It's frustrating to move the ball like that and not get touchdowns," coach Dirk Koetter said. "Against good teams Chris Conte Jersey , that's what you're supposed to do."Smith's fumble return and Gregory's recovery at the Tampa Bay 4 helped a Dallas offense that wasn't sharp for a second straight week. Prescott was 20 of 25 but for just 161 yards.Prescott ran 7 yards聽to cap the only lengthy Dallas touchdown drive, a 75-yarder. His toss to the rookie Gallup came after Gregory's recovery, which resulted from a botched exchange between Winston and receiver Bobo Wilson.A play before that bad exchange in a seven-point game, Peyton Barber‘s 33-yard run was wiped out by one of four holding penalties against the Bucs.Smith gave the Cowboys a 14-3 lead in the second quarter, scooping up the loose ball after Gregory hit Winston from behind and outrunning the Tampa Bay quarterback down the sideline for his first career touchdown.The sprint was one of the best illustrations of Smith getting his speed back after the devastating knee injury in his final game at Notre Dame that sidelined him as a rookie with the Cowboys in 2016. For the first time this season, he's playing without a brace designed to offset nerve damage."I've been known as a sideline-to-sideline fast linebacker and athlete," Smith said. "Had I run the 40 (at the NFL combine), I would have been somewhere in the 4.4s and all that good stuff. But it feels good to be able to open up like that again at the highest level."Winston's聽7-yard pass to Mike Evans got the Bucs聽within a touchdown with 2:05 remaining, but Dallas linebacker Leighton Vander Esch recovered the onside kick. Evans had six catches for 90 yards, and Adam Humphries had 10 grabs for 79 yards.With a chance to get within a touchdown earlier in the fourth quarter Ryan Smith Jersey , Winston was stopped about half a yard short of the first down at the Dallas 1 on a fourth-down scramble.TAKING CARE OF BUSINESSThe Cowboys could have clinched the division with a Philadelphia loss at home against Houston. The issue was already settled by the time Jake Elliott hit a 35-yard field goal as time expired to give the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles a 32-30 win. "I think it was mandatory for us to go out there and take care of it ourselves," Elliott said. "Honestly, it just feels better."RUSHING RACEElliott, the NFL rushing leader by 98 yards over Todd Gurley of the Los Angeles Rams coming in, is at 1,434 yards with what could be seen as a meaningless game at the Giants to finish the regular season. In a similar situation two years ago, Elliott didn't play at Philadelphia. His final carry Sunday was an 11-yarder for a first down that allowed Prescott to run out the clock.CRAWFORD SCAREDallas defensive lineman Tyrone Crawford went to a hospital to have a neck injury evaluated after getting hurt on the second play of the game. Crawford's neck was stabilized on a stretcher with his facemask removed. The seventh-year player was moving his arms and legs before he was taken off the field.The Cowboys said after the game that Crawford was released from the hospital and would be re-evaluated by the team's medical staff Monday.UP NEXTBuccaneers: Finale at home against Atlanta next Sunday.Cowboys: Regular-season finale at the Giants next Sunday.
