Birds stumble against NFC South rival

TAMPA, Fla. -- Mama said there'd be days like this.

Rookie quarterback Matt Ryan threw the first interceptions of his career into an aggressive Buccaneers defense as the Falcons fell to their division rival 24-9 at Raymond James Stadium Sunday afternoon.

Ryan rebounded and the Birds showed incredible heart in the second half, but didn't overcome first-half miscues.

"We got off to a bit of a slow start," Ryan said. "When you turn the football over in the NFL, it’s tough to come back from that, but I thought the guys fought hard from top to bottom. Coach Smith was out there fighting for us. The offensive line, wideouts, defense, everyone fought hard but we just came up a little bit short.  We’ll learn from it and try to get better for next week.”

Ryan misfired on his first nine pass attempts as the offense struggled to get into the powerful groove it established in a Week 1 victory over Detroit. The quarterback's first interception came on the first drive as a third-down throw went through the hands of rookie wide receiver Harry Douglas and into the mitts of cornerback Aqib Talib.

Five plays later Brian Griese found tight end John Gilmore with a 5-yard touchdown pass.

It was the Buccaneers that found the quick start the Falcons were looking for.

“As a team we came out knowing we were coming into a hostile environment. We turned the ball over and they had the field position really the first half," safety Lawyer Milloy said. "Defensively we settled down towards the end of the first half and we gave our offense a chance to get back in the ball game. I look at it like a total team picture; we had too many mistakes early in the game to win that ball game.”

Ryan didn't complete a pass until the 6:27 mark of the second quarter and the team converted just 2-of-10 third downs in the first half. Balls were dropped, Ryan was pressured and good plays were erased with holding penalties and shoe-string tackles.

Ryan was 13-of-33 for 158 yards in the game and was sacked four times.

“It was tough man, they came out to a good start at the beginning of the game and we couldn’t battle back and get it close enough," defensive end John Abraham said. "They showed what good defense should play like and they played very good.  We can take notes on this, just personally, and try to see if we want to be good, that’s what we have to play through.”

The Falcons defense held the Bucs to 36 net rushing yards in the first half -- the lowest total in a half since the 2006 season finale -- but Tampa Bay did just enough in the run game to stay on the move. Former Falcon Warrick Dunn rushed for 49 yards on 12 carries in the game including a 17-yard touchdown. The score -- a gutsy draw play on third-and-goal from the 17 -- gave his team a 14-0 lead midway through the second quarter.

Ryan's second interception of the day came on the next series. That led to a 33-yard field goal by Matt Bryant.

But the tide started to turn for the Falcons at the close of the first half despite a 17-0 disadvantage.

A 37-yard punt return by Adam Jennings set the Falcons up at the Bucs 25 with just more than two minutes to play. A key completion to Roddy White on third-and-13 gave Jason Elam a chance at a 32-yard field goal, which he made to get the Falcons on the scoreboard.

It was the longest return in Jennings' career and the longest for the team since 2006.

The Falcons got on the board again with 6:43 remaining in the third quarter with a 27-yard field goal by Elam. The drive covered 75 yards in 13 plays as Ryan completed 6 of 7 passes for 62 yards.

The Bucs went on the move on next series, pushing the ball deep into Falcons territory.

But, as he's done numerous times in his career, Abraham made a big play. He sacked Griese and forced a fumble in the red zone that was recovered by Jason Jefferson. Defensive tackle Jonathan Babineaux also had a sack in the game. Abraham's sack is his 14th in the last 17 games.

The play kicked off a key drive for the Birds, who drove into Bucs territory and took two cracks at the end zone with Ryan's arm. The quarterback was forced to throw it away on both attempts, however, bringing in Elam for a 25-yard field goal which made the score 17-9 with 5:12 remaining.

It wasn't a one-possession game for long.

Bucs running back Earnest Graham notched a 68-yard touchdown run on the next series to put the game away. The Falcons got the ball twice more but the Bucs defensive line didn't let up. Ryan was pressured heavily through the end of the game.

Falcons players return to Flowery Branch to review film that's sure to have plenty of answers and chances to learn. The team will host the Kansas City Chiefs next week.

"We want to start fast, that’s the way we want to approach this game and we did not start like we needed to start," Head Coach Mike Smith said. "We’ll go home, we’ll take a good look at the tape, this will be a learning experience. As I told the players in there, this is a 16 game season, it’s a marathon. We’re going to get back to work tomorrow, watch that tape and move forward to get ready for Kansas City in the Georgia Dome.” 

INJURY REPORT: Starting defensive end Grady Jackson was a surprise, last-minute scratch from Sunday's game with a knee injury. Smith said Jackson woke up early Sunday morning with knee problems and doctors elected to keep him out of the game. The team also lost rookie tackle Sam Baker in the middle of the game.

"He just got his bell rung and the doctors felt like it was in his best interest and our best interest to keep him out," Smith said of Baker. "We’ll evaluate that as the week goes on. I really haven’t had an opportunity to talk to some of the guys that got banged up. But it was a very physical football game, my hats off to (Bucs head) Coach (Jon) Gruden and his staff. They played better today.”

Baker was replaced by veteran lineman Todd Weiner.

MORE FROM THE FALCONS-BUCS GAME:

• GAME CENTER: Stats and more in the NFL.com Game Center
• GAME RECAP: Falcons fall to Bucs, 24-9
• GAME NOTES: Official game notes from Raymond James Stadium
• TRANSCRIPTS: Head Coach Mike Smith | Falcons | Buccaneers
• VIDEO: Head Coach Mike Smith | Matt Ryan
• HIGHLIGHTS: Game highlights from NFL Network
• BLOG: News and thoughts from Managing Editor J. Michael Moore
• MESSAGE BOARDS: Talk about the game with other fans on FalconsLIFE