Sunday November 4, 1979 - Atlanta Falcons vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers Gameday Report

LOSS - Tampa Bay Buccaneers 14 Atlanta Falcons 17

The Falcons controlled the ball for 41 of 60 minutes. An inability to complete long passes, combined with fumbles, prevented the Buccaneers from taking what could have been a large early lead. Isaac Hagins' fumble to Atlanta's Tom Pridemore set up a 31-yard field goal. The Buccaneers maintained a halftime lead, despite having held the ball for only six minutes and 18 seconds in the first half.

Falcon blitzing disrupted Doug Williams' passing, and Ricky Bell and Jerry Eckwood were held to 72 yards rushing. Eckwood's fumble led to Atlanta's go-ahead touchdown with 11:10 remaining. Bubba Bean's 60-yard run with 1:22 remaining clinched the game for the Falcons. A 69-yard Williams-led drive brought the Buccaneers to within three points with 28 seconds left, but the Buccaneers failed to recover the ensuing onside kick.

Thanks to Doug Williams the Buccaneers managed to reach .500 for the first time in franchise history

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GAMEDAY BRIEF

WEATHER: Sunny - 59°F. - Wind N.W. 10 mph

OFFICALS

REFEREE: #12 Ben Dreith
UMPIRE: #5 Bob Boylston
LINE JUDGE: #11 Bill Reynolds
LINESMAN: #20 Frank Glover
BACK JUDGE: #6 Stan javie
FIELD JUDGE: #16 Pat Mallette
SIDE JUDGE: #19 Bob Rice

SCORING

BUCCANEERS: 2:08-1Q Bell 1 run (O'Donoghue kick)
FALCONS: 4:58-2Q Mazzetti FG30
FALCONS: 11:10-4Q Mitchell 4 pass from Bartkowski (Mazzetti kick)
FALCONS: 1:22-4Q Bean 60 run (Mazzetti kick)
BUCCANEERS: 0:22-4Q Giles 12 pass from Williams (O'Donoghue kick)

STARTERS OFFENSE

QB: #12 Williams
LT: #75 Reavis
LG: #64 Horton
C: #50 Wilson
RG: #61 Roberts
RT: #73 Hannah
WR: #85 Owens
WR: #81 Hagins
TE: #88 Giles
FB: #43 Eckwood
RB: #42 Bell

STARTERS DEFENSE

LDE: #60 Chambers
NT: #71 Crowder
RDE: #63 L. Selmon
LOLB: #57 Lewis
LILB: #58 D. Selmon
RILB: #54 Wood
ROLB: #56 Johnson
LCB: #45 White
SS: #33 Cotney
FS: #25 Jordan
RCB: #40 Washington

SUBSTITUTIONS

6 O'Donoghue, 16 Blanchard, 23 Ragsdale, 27 T Davis, 34 Brown, 36 Berns, 38 J Davis, 44 Cesare, 46 Reece, 51 Nafziger, 53 Bonness, 55 Brown , 66 Yarno, 69 Austin, 70 Carlton, 74 Sanders, 77 Kollar, 79 Lewis, 84 Jones, 86 Obradovich, 87 Mucker

DID NOT PLAY

14 Fusina,15 Rae

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING

BUCCANEERS: Bell 13-41, Eckwood 9-31, J.Davis 2-4, Williams 1-0, Mucker 1-(-2).
FALCONS: Stanback Bean 3-67, Cason 21-65, Andrews 15-49, Mayberry 3-16, Bartkowski 4-15.

PASSING

BUCCANEERS: Williams 24-11-198-1-1.
FALCONS: Bartkowski 20-11-80-1-1.

RECIEVING

BUCCANEERS: Mucker 3-68, Owens 2-76, Hagins 2-17, J.Davis 1-15, Giles 1-12, Ragsdale 1-6, Eckwood 1-4.
FALCONS: Andrews 4-16, Mitchell 3-19, Jenkins 2-29, Francis 2-16.

INTERCEPTIONS

BUCCANEERS: Lewis 1-11.
FALCONS: Lawrence 1-12.

KICK RETURNS

BUCCANEERS: Ragsdale 3-56.
FALCONS: Stanback 1-24, Pearson 1-23.

PUNT RETURNS

BUCCANEERS: Reece 4-7.
FALCONS: Pearson 1-4.

SACKS

BUCCANEERS: Chambers 1-9, Nafziger 1-9, Lewis 1-8.
FALCONS: Brezina 1-4.