Chris Redman, backup quarterback for Atlanta, threw a touchdown pass of 5 yards over to Roddy White on Sunday with just 23 seconds left to play, as the Falcons eked out a 20-17 win over Tampa Bay after their offensive stars Michael Turner and Matt Ryan left the game due to injuries.
White said, this game was one we really couldn’t afford to lose. It’s a very good thing that Chris was able to come in and do what he needed to do for us to win.
Will this last? It will depend on how long Turner and Ryan as well as Sam Baker and Harvey Dahl, offensive linemen, will be out. They all had to leave the game due to injuries. Atlanta isn’t saying how serious the injuries are.
Ryan, Atlanta’s second year quarterback, injured his right big toe on the very first series for Atlanta. In the third quarter Turner sustained another injury to his right ankle. The high ankle sprain had prevented Turner from playing in Atlanta’s previous game as well as limit his practice time.
White said, those are our franchise players.
Atlanta (6-5) has lost four of their last five games coming in. They found themselves in deep trouble when Jason Elam missed yet another field goal attempt, perhaps his last attempt with the Falcons. Tampa Bay (1-10) then drove the ball into Falcons territory.
However with 2:30 remaining Connor Barth missed a field goal attempt from 51 yards, giving Atlanta one more opportunity, but with no timeouts left. Redman was able to calmly direct a drive of 59 yards to give Atlanta a victory that they absolutely needed, especially considering in their next games they will be facing Philadelphia and an unbeaten New Orleans team.
On fourth down and goal on the 5 yard line Redman connected with White running up the middle on a slant as Derrick Roberson, Tampa Bay cornerback, swiped at the football to no avail.
Redman said, at any time I am always ready. That’s the reason I am here.
Early third quarter Corey Lynch blocked a punt to set up a touchdown pass of 8 yards from Josh Freeman to Carnell Williams to give Tampa Bay a 17-10 lead.
Their lead almost held up.
Aqib Talib, cornerback for Tampa Bay said, you have to make the last play of the game.
Redman, who became Atlanta’s starting quarterback in 2007 following the Michael Vick suspension, had only played in one game in the last two years after the arrival of Ryan.
On the Falcons’ final drive, Redman was able to complete four passes over to Tony Gonzalez for a total of 34 yards. Atlanta got a huge break when Roberson received a holding penalty on a pass that was incomplete to the opposite side of the football field.
Tampa Bay still only needed one stop to get their second win of the season after Redman had three incomplete passes in a row from the 5 yard line. Down to his final attempt, Redman found White, who was in single coverage, delivering a perfect pass for the score.
Mike Smith, Atlanta head coach said, it’s very difficult being a backup quarterback in this league. I know that Chris will always be prepared. I didn’t have any doubts that Chris could come into the game and efficiently execute.
As Falcons teammates Eric Weeks and Gonzalez mobbed White inside the end zone, Raheem Morris, Tampa Bay head coach, kneeled to the ground in disbelief.
Morris, the embattled first year coach who earlier this week took over the duties of defensive play calling after demoting Jim Bates, their former defensive coordinator. The move almost paid off immediately. Instead, Tampa Bay suffered yet another crushing loss. Their season has been full of them.
Morris said, we were at 1-9. Now this team is at 1-10. Whenever you lose it is never going forward.
Redman went 23 for 41 for a total of 243 yards passing, despite getting sacked five times. He also flipped a short pass to Jerious Norwood that ended up as a touchdown of 22 yards. The score gave Atlanta an early lead of 10-0.
Before halftime Tampa Bay fought back and tied the game. Freeman connected with Antonio Bryant deep to the left sideline. Bryant lept up to grab the ball from Tye Hill, Falcons cornerback, and then was able to roll into his end zone after realizing no one had touched him to score a touchdown of 42 yards. Late first half Barth kicked a field goal of 39 yards.
In just the fourth start of his career, Freeman was able to rebound nicely from his four turnover performance versus New Orleans the week before in the game the Bucs lost by 31 points. He went 20 for 29 for a total of 250 yards passing without any turnovers. The only big mistake he made was a fumble, but he was able to recover the ball.
On the game’s ninth snap, Ryan injured his toe on a sack by Tim Crowder and Stylez White. The Falcons taped Ryan’s toe up and added some extra padding to his shoe. Then Ryan tried to do a bit of light jogging over on the sidelines, but nothing really worked.
At halftime Ryan changed into his street clothes. He wore his special shoe while he watched the remainder of the game.
