Freeman: Ran for a score in narrow victory over Atlanta
Josh Freeman scored the first rushing touchdown of his career as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers ended three years of frustration against the Atlanta Falcons.
Freeman and Tampa Bay's defense forced three turnovers and sacked Matt Ryan four times in its best performance of the season, helping the Buccaneers beat the Falcons 16-13 on Sunday.
The normally unflappable Freeman did a little bird dance in celebration of his quarterback sneak that snapped a 3-3 tie in the second quarter. The Bucs (2-1) went on to end a five-game losing streak in the series between NFC South rivals. Four of those losses were by six or fewer points.
Tampa Bay's defense forced two first-half fumbles with sacks. Ronde Barber intercepted a pass to stop an Atlanta threat just before halftime, and the Falcons (1-2) were stopped on downs inside the Bucs 10 early in the fourth quarter. Still, Ryan nearly pulled off a fourth-quarter comeback from a double-digit deficit for the second straight week.
The Falcons drew within 16-13 on the 91st TD reception of Tony Gonzalez's career with just under 10 minutes to go. They drove to the Tampa Bay 5 before Matt Bryant's 33-yard field goal made it a three-point game with 4:06 left. Ryan and his supporting cast of playmakers never got the ball back.
With Freeman and LeGarrette Blount, who rushed for 81 yards on 24 carries, leading the way, the Bucs burned the rest of the clock. Any hope the Falcons had evaporated as Tampa Bay converted a final first down when Atlanta jumped offside on fourth-and-inches.
Source: http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,12040_7204052,00.html
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