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Atlanta Falcons sweat out another close one at home, hold on to beat Bucs

With Sunday's triumph, the Falcons (2-4) still harbor realistic hopes of either winning the NFC South or competing for the wild card.

ATLANTA–It's not explicitly listed on the printed tickets, per se, but Falcons fans have essentially been guaranteed three unique, yet constant experiences with home games this season:

An up-close, in-depth look at beautiful Mercedes-Benz Stadium?

Check.

Quarterback Matt Ryan tossing multiple touchdowns ... while throwing for a gazillion yards?

Check.

The Falcons sweating through an uncomfortably close result in the final seconds–regardless of opponent quality?

Check again.

The above checklist rang true once more on Sunday, with the Falcons squeaking out a harrowing 34-29 victory over the Buccaneers; and frankly speaking, it was a fortunate win, considering how Tampa Bay (2-3) matched Atlanta's overall effort of four touchdowns.

The only discernible differences:

a) A botched PAT kick in the first quarter forced the Buccaneers to eventually attempt an unsuccessful two-point try early in the fourth quarter.

b) Matt Bryant's 57-yard field goal with less than two minutes remaining capped Atlanta's scoring day.

c) Bucs QB Jameis Winston had the mindset of running for the goal line on the game's final play–despite no timeouts and zero shot of reaching the end zone.

Winston's solution: Involving his teammates with a zany series of lateral tosses near the goal line ... which surely could not have been an actual play-call from head coach Dirk Koetter.

Right?

So, how does one interpret the impact of Sunday triumph?

From a local perspective, the Falcons (2-4) still harbor realistic hopes of either winning the NFC South or competing for an NFC wild-card slot.

And from a national standpoint, the executives at ESPN are doing cartwheels for one significant reason:

The marketing department won't have to sell a pair of 1-5 teams for next week's episode of Monday Night Football (Giants @ Falcons).

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