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Buccaneers look to end post-bye struggles against Falcons

Nov 18, 2007 - 11:25 AM Tampa Bay (5-4) at Atlanta (3-6) Sunday 1:00 pm EST

ATLANTA (Ticker) -- In each of the last two seasons, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost their first game following the bye week.

The Buccaneers look to end that trend Sunday, when they visit the Atlanta Falcons in an NFC South contest.

Even without playing last week, the Buccaneers gained ground in the standings as the Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints lost at home with a chance to move into a tie for first place in the division.

Those results left Tampa Bay with a one-game lead over Carolina (4-5) and New Orleans (4-5) in the NFC South heading into the final seven weeks of the season.

The Buccaneers are trying to become the fifth straight NFC South team to go from last place one season to first place the next.

"There were some real surprises going on in pro football in the first half of the season, and that means there will probably be some in the second half of the season," Tampa Bay coach Jon Gruden said.

"We would like to be one of those surprise teams. All you can do really is control what you can control. That is preparing, practicing, and getting ready to play your best."

In their last game before the bye week, the Buccaneers snapped a two-game slide with a 17-10 victory over the Arizona Cardinals.

Tampa Bay held the ball for 43:07 - the highest time of possession for a regulation game in franchise history - and limited the Cardinals to 23 yards rushing.

The Buccaneers rushed for 162 yards, led by Earnest Graham, who gained 124 yards on 34 carries for his first career 100-yard game.

Following Michael Vick's suspension after pleading guilty to federal dogfighting charges, the Falcons dropped six of their first seven games and appeared to be one of the league's worst teams.

But Atlanta has rebounded to win its last two contests and would climb within one game of first place in a weak division with a win over the Panthers.

In last week's 20-13 win over the Panthers, Joey Harrington tossed a 30-yard touchdown pass to Alge Crumpler with 20 seconds remaining after briefly getting knocked out of the game.

Tampa Bay was swept by Atlanta last season, failing to score a touchdown in either game. The Buccaneers lost 14-3 in Atlanta and 17-6 at Tampa.