Matt Gay's big leg fails him short
John Romano, Tampa Bay Times, published 25 November 2019

Remember when Bruce Arians took a delay of game penalty to make the field attempt "easier” for Matt Gay, who missed the potential game-winner from 34 yards against the Giants? Turns out Arians was right. Gay is better bombing kicks from 50 yards away than he is trying to knock in extra points.

Gay is 21 of 24 on field goals this season, but he missed two extra points and had a third blocked in Tampa Bay's 35-22 win over the Falcons Sunday. He is only 27 of 32 on extra points this season. Fortunately, Gay connected on a 32-yard field goal before the game ended. "He came back and hit a pretty good field goal,'' coach Bruce Arians said. "That was good for him.''

Bad Jameis, good Jameis
This is what you get with Jameis Winston. Two interceptions in the first quarter, including a jump pass behind running back Dare Ogunbowale to set up a Falcons touchdown. Then three touchdown passes, two to Chris Godwin and one to defensive tackle Vita Vea. All told, Winston completed 18 of 28 passes for 313 yards with three touchdowns and two picks.

His 20 interceptions are a career high and the most through 11 in team history. He's only the second player to do that since Jay Cutler threw 20 interceptions in the same span in 2009. But it also was the sixth-straight 300-yard passing game of Winston's career, extending his club record.

Winston had 80 family members in attendance at Sunday's game, which was played 160-miles from his hometown in Bessemer, Ala. "They're very constructive,'' Winston said. "They have a lot of constructive criticism. But we got the win so I have at least a year of street cred.''

Winston also rushed eight times for 38 yards. "Great complementary football,'' Winston said. "Those guys did an incredible job. I hate to put them in that situation, especially the one in the red zone. But they persevered and I persevered and we fought through it.''

Not running on empty
A week ago, the Bucs only attempted eight rushing plays, the fewest in a game in team history.On Sunday, despite two early interceptions that left them trailing, they stuck with the ground game.

Tampa Bay was rewarded with 133 yards rushing on 34 rushing attempts. Running back Ronald Jones led the way with 12 rushes for 51 yards and a touchdown. Peyton Barber chipped in with 32 yards on 11 carries and Dare Ogunbowale had a run for 12 yards. Winston used his feet for 38 yards on four carries.

Bucs coach Bruce Arians credited offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich and run game coordinator Harold Goodwin. "I thought at halftime, Byron and Goodwin made really, really good adjustments on how we were blocking some inside runs and we broke a couple,'' Arians said. "And throughout the whole game, I thought Byron made some good adjustments. Jameis did a good job of running when necessary and making first downs when he had a chance.''

Injury update
Cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting sustained a knee injury and did not return to the game in the fourth quarter. Linebacker Devin White was evaluated for a possible concussion after a collision with cornerback Carlton Davis but returned to the game.