ATLANTA -- The Falcons stepped into the Georgia Dome Sunday winners of two straight games and looking at a perfect opportunity to gain ground in the NFC South race.
They left with a 31-7 loss to the division-leading Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-4) that included several key injuries and visible frustration.
Defensive tackle Trey Lewis (knee), tackle Todd Weiner (knee) and tight end Dwayne Blakley all left the game with injuries. Defensive tackle Rod Coleman left the game for several minutes with an arm injury but returned. Head Coach Bobby Petrino did not have detailed updates on injuries after the game.
Bumps and bruises were just part of an ugly and unusual contest, however. The Falcons (3-7) and Bucs seemed to battle themselves more than each other Sunday, combining for five turnovers and creating what can best be described as a bizarre NFL game.
The Buccaneers were out of official challenges in the first half. The Falcons finished the game with 11 penalties for 105 yards.
Quarterback Byron Leftwich, starting his first game since Oct. 21, threw two interceptions and was later replaced by Joey Harrington.
"My performance was poor and I will look over the things that I didn't do so well," Leftwich said. "As the quarterback of this team I have to set the precedent and put numbers on the board. I just didn't get it done but we will be ready for next week."
The first interception canceled out a Keith Brooking fumble recovery on the previous play and set up a 44-yard touchdown pass from Buccaneers quarterback Jeff Garcia to wide receiver Joey Galloway.
The Falcons also had issues holding on to the football.
The first of two Leftwich fumbles came in the second quarter. As he tried to escape a collapsing pocket the signal-caller was hit from behind by Greg White and lost the football. Ronde Barber recovered and raced 41 yards for a touchdown and a 14-0 Tampa Bay lead.
Petrino got a Warrick Dunn fumble off the books with a challenge with 10 minutes remaining in the half, but it did little to change the momentum.
The Falcons faced third-and-long on the next play but, in one of the strangest moments thus far in the NFL season, lost the ball and delayed the game for several minutes.
Leftwich found Roddy White over the middle for a first down, but the receiver fumbled. The ball was recovered by Brian Kelly who tossed a lateral back to linebacker Cato June. June then lost the ball and Falcons center Todd McClure recovered. The change of possession gave the Falcons a first down, but the offense failed to convert it into points.
Atlanta finished the game 5-of-16 on third down and struggled to string together plays on offense. The team had a shot near Bucs territory early in the third quarter, but Dunn fell short off a pitch play on fourth-and-one giving the ball back to Tampa Bay.
The play would prove key.
The Buccaneers did just enough on offense to keep the ball moving. Garcia led an eight play, 49-yard drive off the Falcons fourth-down miss and the Bucs got a Matt Bryant field goal to take a 17-0 lead.
Leftwich's second interception came off a tipped pass by Gaines Adams and landed in the juggling hands of defensive tackle Chris Hovan at the Falcons 27. Three plays later Garcia found tight end Alex Smith with a 21-yard touchdown pass that gave the Bucs a commanding 24-0 lead.
"It was a struggle," tight end Alge Crumpler said. "We turned the ball over and it was tough. I felt like we had a really good week and it was a division rivalry, but we just didn't play well enough to win the game. I hate it because our defense played so well but we just couldn't put points on the board. It just wasn't our day."
Harrington entered the game at quarterback with 4:39 remaining in the third quarter and faced similar results.
"I wanted to let Byron come out of the locker room and see if Joey could get anything going," Petrino said. "Not converting the fourth down hurt us but, then we had the fumble and the injury to Todd Weiner so I decided we needed a little more mobility at quarterback."
The Bucs took further advantage as the game continued. Garcia led the longest drive of the day to close out the third quarter and running back Earnest Graham gave the Bucs a 31-0 lead with a 26-yard touchdown run on the first play of the fourth quarter.
The Falcons avoided the first shutout in Georgia Dome history inside the two minute warning with a 7-yard touchdown pass from Harrington to Adam Jennings. The extra point marked Morten Andersen's 354th consecutive game with at least one point.
Harrington finished the game 16-of-20 for 139 yards. Leftwich completed 15 of 28 passes for 106 yards.The pair was sacked four times.
Defensively the Falcons were led by Brooking (eight tackles). Defensive end John Abraham had one sack in the game with another called back on a penalty.
The team now turns its attention to a Thanksgiving Night game against the Colts, just four days away.
"It's not a good feeling right now," Petrino said. "We really had a good week of preparation and our focus and enthusiasm was as high as it had been all year long. We really felt like this game could get us back in the race... It's going to hurt all night but we have to get back to work because we play Thursday night. We have to regroup and come out here Thursday and do everything we can to get a win."
"We got our butts kicked today and that is basically the bottom line," added safety Lawyer Milloy. "We have the defending champs coming in here so we don't have time to dwell on the outcome of this game. The beautiful thing about this is that we get another opportunity on Thursday."
MORE FROM THE FALCONS-BUCS GAME:
- GAMEDAY: All the coverage from the Falcons-Bucs game
- STATS AND PLAY-BY-PLAY: NFL.com Game Center
- GAME NOTES: Updates and injury news from the Georgia Dome press box
- INACTIVES AND STARTERS: Inactives and starters from Week 11
- QUOTABLE: Thoughts on the game from Falcons players and coaches
- VIDEO: Head Coach Bobby Petrino
- VIDEO: Quarterback Byron Leftwich
- VIDEO: Quarterback Joey Harrington
- VIDEO: Tight end Alge Crumpler
- VIDEO: Cornerback DeAngelo Hall
- VIDEO: Falcons-Bucs Highlights
