Falcons Beat Bucs 45-24 To Clinch NFC’s Number 5 Seed

ATLANTA – Julio Jones caught two touchdown passes in a span of 26 seconds, Michael Turner ran for two scores and the Atlanta Falcons used a team-record 42 first-half points to cruise to a 45-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday to clinch the No. 5 seed in the NFC playoffs.

The Falcons (10-6) and Detroit (10-6) are the NFC wild-cards. Atlanta, which beat Detroit on Oct. 23, won the tiebreaker with the Lions for the more favorable seeding. The Falcons will play at the winner of Sunday night’s Dallas-New York Giants game in the first round of the playoffs.

Josh Freeman threw two interceptions and lost a fumble in the first half as the Buccaneers (4-12) closed their season with their 10th straight loss, leaving the status of coach Raheem Morris in
doubt.