TAMPA, Fla. -- Matt Ryan threw for 344 yards and four touchdowns, helping the Atlanta Falcons tighten their grip on first place in the NFC South with a 43-28 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday night.
Julio Jones had eight receptions for 111 yards and a TD as the Falcons (6-3) avenged a season-opening loss to the Bucs (3-5). Tampa Bay has dropped two consecutive on the heels of a three-game winning streak that got them back to .500.
Jones, who's closing in on another 1,000-yard receiving season with 970 through nine games, caught a 3-yard scoring pass in the third quarter, when Ryan led TD drives of 86 and 82 yards to break it open.
Levine Toilolo, Patrick DiMarco and Austin Hooper also caught TD passes from Ryan, who leads the NFL with 2,980 yards and 23 touchdowns vs. four interceptions.
Jameis Winston threw for 261 yards and three touchdowns for Tampa Bay, including scoring passes of 3 and 24 yards to Evans, who had 11 receptions.
Both of Tampa Bay's young stars finished the game on the sideline, with Evans being evaluated for a possible concussion and Winston limping off after being shaken up when he was tackled trying to score on a two-point conversion play with just under seven minutes remaining.
Winston was tackled around the ankle by Atlanta's Brooks Reed and also hit by cornerback Jalen Collins.
Mike Glennon finished up for the Bucs, taking his first regular season snaps since 2014. He threw a late TD pass to Cameron Brate to cut into a 23-point deficit.
The Bucs defense yielded 626 yards, including 513 passing, during last week's 30-24 overtime loss to Oakland. That may have contributed to the decision Thursday night to decline a 15-yard face mask against the Falcons, settling for Matt Bryant kicking a 41-yard field goal for a 13-7 Atlanta lead.
Ryan has thrown for 1,344 yards, 9 touchdowns and just 2 interceptions in his last 4 games against the Bucs.
Bucs DT Gerald McCoy talked this week about his admiration for Ryan, but reiterated that good sportsmanship should never be confused with a lack of commitment to do whatever necessary to win. He said he'd shake the quarterback's hand before and after the game, but spend the rest of the night trying to make the NFL passing yardage leader uncomfortable.
Sports on 11/04/2016