Falcons hand winless Bucs one of their worst defeats Roy Cummings, The Tampa Tribune, published 19 September 2014 Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie general manager Jason Licht sat in his office at One Buc Place earlier this week talking about the discouraging start the team has stumbled out to this season. He admitted that in their personal forecasts, he and coach Lovie Smith figured the Bucs would run into a few bumps along the road, particularly during the early sledding. Neither, however, could have envisioned a bump like the Bucs ran into Thursday night at the Georgia Dome. Tampa Bay lost to Atlanta, 56-14. The Falcons led 21-0 in the first quarter, 35-0 at halftime, 56-0 in the third quarter. In terms of lopsidedness, this 42-point setback wasn't quite as bad as the 48-3 hammering the Bucs suffered at the hands of the 49ers in 2011 or the 45-0 thrashing Oakland gave them in 1999 — games that represent the largest margins of defeat in team history. In terms of competitiveness, however, it seemed much worse. The Bucs gave the ball away five times (four fumbles, one interception), and tied a team record by allowing 35 points in the first half. “We got embarrassed tonight, it's that simple, no other way to put it,'' Bucs left tackle Anthony Collins said. “I hate to cuss, I can't help it tonight, because we got our (behinds) whooped.'' And that whooping left an indelible mark. “We have a scar on us now and scars don't go away,'' Smith said. “This one will be on us for the rest of our lives. We'll remember this. I know because I've had some other games like this that I still remember. Luckily, we have 13 more games to go this year. We even have one more (against) this team that we lost to tonight. We didn't give them a whole lot of competition this time, but we will the next time.'' If the Bucs somehow do give the Falcons a better game next time around it might be without quarterback Josh McCown, who had to be replaced in the third quarter after he injured his right thumb when he hit it on a Falcons player's helmet making a throw. Smith said it was too soon to know how long McCown might be out. He also said it was too soon to know if McCown's part in this loss would lead to a change at the position based on merit. Changes are coming, though. Smith all but promised as much in the wake of a loss that left the Bucs with an 0-3 start before they have to travel to Pittsburgh and New Orleans. “Of course we have to make some changes,'' Smith said. “We weren't competitive. We have been (in our two previous losses). And we were missing some good football players tonight. But the guys that were out there should have played better than that.'' It's hard to imagine anyone playing better than Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan. Before leaving in the third quarter, Ryan set a Falcons record for completion percentage (87.5) by connecting on all but three of his 24 passes for 286 yards and three touchdowns. But that wasn't the only record set in this game. When former Smith protégé' Devin Hester returned a punt 62 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter, he overtook Deion Sanders for first place on the NFL's all-time touchdown return list with 20. And not once, but twice — by scoring 21 points in the first quarter and the third — the Falcons tied the franchise mark for points in a quarter set here during a 45-24 drubbing of the Bucs on New Year's Day in 2012 — coach Raheem Morris' final game. The Falcons did all of that against an already battered Bucs team that was missing two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Gerald McCoy (broken hand), starting middle linebacker Mason Foster (shoulder) and Pro Bowl running back Doug Martin (knee). But no one was using injuries as an excuse. Not even after quarterback Josh McCown was knocked out of the game with an injured his thumb after banging it on a Falcons' helmet while throwing an incompletion in the third quarter. McCown, after all, was as much to blame as anyone for the outcome as he never seemed to get into a rhythm while completing just five of 12 passes for 58 yards and an interception that was returned for a touchdown. That came with 2:38 to play in the first quarter when safety Kemal Ishmael read McCown's eyes and jumped in front of a pass for Vincent Jackson and ran 23 yards for the score. That was all part of a horrendous start for the Bucs, who looked like they were playing at a different speed than the Falcons. Atlanta needed less than three minutes to move the ball 70 yards and take a 7-0 lead on its first possession. The Bucs followed up by going three plays and out on their first offensive series, but not even a Mark Barron fumble recovery could slow the Falcons down because Barron simply fumbled the ball right back during his return, stripped from behind by Hester. From the Bucs 37-yard line, the Falcons needed eight plays to make it 14-0, but only three more to make it 21-0 thanks to Ishmael's interception return. And if you think that was quick, the Bucs gave the ball back after just two plays on their next possession, Bobby Rainey fumbling for the first time of two times in this game, giving Atlanta the ball at the Bucs 35-yard line. Hester took over the game from there, scoring on a 20-yard run around the left end to make it 28-0 one play into the second quarter and again a few minutes later with his 62-yard punt return. Glennon was 17 of 24 for 121 yards and a touchdown, a 3-yard pass to Vincent Jackson that ended Atlanta's shutout bid with 8:46 left to play. Tampa Bay reserve linebacker Danny Lansanah finished the scoring with an interception of backup quarterback T.J. Yates that he returned 27 yards for a touchdown.