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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- The Tampa Bay Buccaneers felt Martin
Gramatica was a sure thing. That's why they drafted him in third
round, and why no one was surprised by his heroics against the
Atlanta Falcons.
The rookie kicker lived up to the nickname of "Automatica" he
earned at Kansas State, kicking two long field goals in the fourth
quarter and finishing with four in a 19-10 victory Sunday.
|  | | Rookie kicker Martin Gramatica celebrates a 53-yard field goal that gave the Bucs the lead for good. |
"I just wanted to relax and do what I had to do," said
Gramatica, who grew up playing soccer in Argentina and didn't start
playing football until he was a senior in high school in nearby
LaBelle, Fla.
"I just did my job," he added. "You could say this was the
greatest game of my life, my career."
The 5-foot-8 kicker booted field goals of 24, 26, 50 and 53
yards as the Bucs overcame a 10-0 deficit before sealing the
victory with a defensive touchdown in the final minute.
The win was the third straight for Tampa Bay (6-4), which has
fought its way back into the NFC Central race behind the improved
play of quarterback Trent Dilfer.
The Bucs, with help from Green Bay's 26-17 victory over Detroit,
pulled into a three-way tie for the division lead with the Lions
and idle Minnesota Vikings. Atlanta (2-8) has lost four of its last
five.
"It's a six-game season now," coach Tony Dungy said, adding
that one of the keys to Tampa Bay's chances finishing on top is
developing more consistency on offense.
The Bucs are averaging just 15.8 points per game, and nearly
went without scoring a touchdown for the third time this season.
"It's all going to come down to who wants it the most," Dungy
said, "and we feel we're in position to be there at the end."
While he was far from spectacular, Dilfer was efficient enough
to set up Gramatica's fourth-quarter field goals. And once again,
he avoided the kinds of mistakes that led to his benching three
weeks ago.
Atlanta scored on its first two possessions, building a 10-0
lead. The Falcons converted five of six third downs in the opening
quarter, but went 0-for-9 the rest of the way to finish with 169
yards total offense.
"We just could not put those guys away," said Falcons safety
Eugene Robinson. "We've got to seize the moment. We just left it out there dangling. We never seized it. ... That was so frustrating. It was there for the taking, and we don't want to take it."
Gramatica, a third-round draft pick who has been Tampa Bay's
most consistent offensive performer, kicked his 50-yard field goal
to trim Atlanta's lead to 10-9 with 5:32 to go.
Dilfer's third-down pass to Warrick Dunn set up Gramatica's final kick, a 53-yarder that put the Bucs ahead with just under a minute
left. Three plays later, cornerback Donnie Abraham intercepted
Chris Chandler's pass that bounced off Winslow Oliver and returned it 47 yards for a clinching TD.
Dilfer completed 15 of 31 passes for 142 yards and was
intercepted once. Chandler was 14-of-25 for 109 yards with two
interceptions, both by Abraham in the fourth quarter.
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GAME NOTES |
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Tampa Bay's Karl Williams became the NFL's all-time leader in punt-return average in the second quarter, replacing Oakland's Darrien Gordon. The return was for just 1 yard. But more importantly, it was the 75th of his career, the number it takes to qualify for the rankings. Williams' punt-return average is 13.6 yards.
The Falcons gained 89 yards in the first quarter, but only made
three first downs and amassed 80 yards in the last three quarters.
Bucs receiver Reidel Anthony was declared inactive for the game
after showing up late for Saturday's team meetings. Bert Emanuel
replaced him in the starting lineup, returning after missing all or
parts of the seven games because of a strained right hamstring.
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The Bucs, who turned the ball over six times in a victory over Kansas City last week, got off to another sloppy start Sunday. Dilfer's
pass on the third play of the game glanced off Dunn's hands and was
intercepted by Robinson to set up Tim Dwight's 8-yard touchdown
run.
Morten Andersen's 28-yard field goal made it 10-0, capping a
first-quarter in which the Falcons held the ball for 11:30 and
Tampa Bay ran just seven plays for no yards.
Dilfer got the Bucs offense out of a hole with a 47-yard throw
up the sideline to Jacquez Green, who didn't appear to get both
feet in bounds before running out of bounds at the Atlanta 40. The
Falcons didn't challenge the catch, and Tampa Bay scored nine plays
later on Gramatica's 24-yard field goal.
The Bucs trimmed their deficit to 10-6 on Gramatica's second
field goal, but were forced to work extra hard for the points on a
16-play, 51-yard drive. During the drive, they converted a
fourth-and-1 and overcame two holding calls that left them facing
first-and-30 from the Falcons' 44.
The drive was typical of the difficulty the Falcons had making
plays that could have kept them in control.
"It's frustrating. We knew the game would be close like that,"
defensive tackle Travis Hall said. "We need to shut things down.
Tampa Bay shut us down, three and out. We need to do that."
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Week 11 stats leaders
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