By Ray Glier
ATLANTA - The Atlanta Falcons romped over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 45-24, Sunday and received even more good news when the Detroit Lions lost to the Green Bay Packers earlier in the day.
The Lions loss means the Falcons (10-6) dodged a first-round playoff game against rival New Orleans next week. Atlanta lost to the Saints twice this season, including a 45-16 drubbing in New Orleans the day after Christmas.
The Lions also finished the season 10-6, but the Falcons beat Detroit, 23-16, on October 23 in Detroit to claim the tiebreaker with the head-to-head win. The Falcons will play the winner of the Sunday night New York Giants-Dallas Cowboys game in the first round, which would mean squaring off against a less imposing opponent than the Saints.
Atlanta coach Mike Smith said he learned Detroit lost with three minutes left in the second quarter. Smith pulled starting quarterback Matt Ryan with 2:04 left in the half and the Falcons leading 42-7.
The Falcons drubbed the Bucs (4-12) with touchdowns on their first five turns with the ball to start Tampa Bay toward its 10th straight loss.
Atlanta led 42-0 with 6:49 remaining in the second quarter when Michael Turner dashed 81 yards for a touchdown.
"We wanted to play our final regular season game with a lot of energy," Smith said. "I thought we did that in all three phases. We wanted to come out and set the tempo. I was pleased with the way our guys played in the first half."
Turner, who did not play in the second half, had 172 yards rushing on 17 carries and broke a slump of five straight games with less than 100 yards rushing. There had been concern that Turner's groin injury and wear and tear from being a feature back had worn him down this season.
"We fell off a little bit, but hopefully this has given us our consistency back," Turner said of the Atlanta run game. "We were just handling the guys. Everybody was blocking the right guys."
Ryan was 6 of 9 passing for 106 yards and two touchdowns. The Falcons simply dominated the line of scrimmage, either blocking for Turner, or protecting for Ryan, and the Bucs had no chance.
It was 28-0 in the second quarter and there was still more misery for the Bucs to endure. On third down from the Tampa Bay 24-yard line, Freeman tried to throw a short pass over the middle, but tight end Kellen Winslow and running back Kregg Lumpkin, who had lined up in the slot, collided.
The pass popped up in the air and it fell into the arms of Atlanta linebacker Curtis Lofton, who raced to a 26-yard touchdown with the interception. That made it 35-0 with 10:43 showing on the second quarter clock.
"There are a lot of issues that need to be addressed," said Tampa Bay veteran offensive guard Davin Joseph. "In the offseason we're going to find out a lot about dedication. It is going to be a very, very competitive offseason and that's exactly what we need."
The Falcons pulled Ryan and Turner, but the Bucs forced the Falcons to keep some of their first-team defensive players on the field. The Bucs trailed 42-7 at the half, but they scored 11 quick points in the third period to trail 42-18.
The Bucs scored again with 11:13 to play to make 42-24 before the Falcons halted the Bucs' momentum.
The Falcons' veteran wide receiver Roddy White became the team's all-time leading receiver with a third quarter catch. He has 7,356 yards.
The team started dropping miniatures toy cows from the rafters of the Georgia Dome for sponsor Chick-fil-A at the same time the Packers' win over the Lions flashed on the scoreboard. The fans cheered their good fortune at a big win in two cities…Atlanta and Green Bay.
Notes….The Falcons announced before the game they signed All-Pro tight end Tony Gonzalez to a one-year contract extension… rookie running back Jacquizz Rodgers scored the first rushing touchdown of his NFL career… Ryan broke Jeff George's 1995 all-time single season record for passing yards. Ryan has 4,177 yards.
NFL: Do the Ravens need home-field advantage?
NFL: Can the Lions make noise in the playoffs?
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