Bucs stop Vick, Falcons

ATLANTA — Michael Vick and the Atlanta Falcons looked unstoppable. Then Derrick Brooks took matters into his own hands.

Brooks, always at his best against the Falcons, forced a fumble by Vick with just over a minute to go, leading to Matt Bryant's 45-yard field goal that gave the Tampa Bay Buccaneers a 30-27 victory Sunday.

The Bucs (7-3) moved into a tie for first in the NFC South with Carolina, which lost 13-3 at Chicago. The Falcons (6-4) remained one game back in the hotly contested division after their second straight loss at home.

"That was a gritty game, man," Tampa Bay cornerback Ronde Barber said. "Two equally matched teams."

Brooks came up with the biggest play of all after Carnell "Cadillac" Williams scored on a 9-yard run to tie the game at 27 with 1:55 remaining.

Blitzing up the middle, he leaped over Warrick Dunn's attempted block and somehow caused Vick to lose the ball as the dropped back to pass. Shelton Quarles fell on it at the Atlanta 34.

Four plays later, Bryant kicked his winning field goal with 42 seconds remaining.

Vick, who threw for 306 yards in just the second 300-yard game of his career, wasn't sure what happened.

"I don't know if Warrick hit the ball or if Derrick Brooks hit the ball," Vick said. "We fought back. We were able to make plays. We just didn't win the game. That's what matters most."

Atlanta fell behind 13-0, then moved the ball at will against Tampa Bay's highly ranked defense. Vick led five straight scoring possessions, including a 10-yard touchdown pass to Michael Jenkins that gave the Falcons a 27-20 lead with 7:36 remaining.

Vick was at his best on third down. The Falcons converted 11-of-17 — many of them in long-yardage situations — against a team that ranked second in the league in that category, allowing a measly 29.6 percent success rate.

After Williams' touchdown, Atlanta got the ball back at its 20 with plenty of time and all three timeouts. Vick connected with Dunn on an 11-yard pass, then Dunn broke several tackles for an 8-yard run. But Brooks broke through to mess things up.

"I don't care about stats," Vick said. "I don't care how many yards I pass for as long as we win."

After the fumble, Vick drove the Falcons to the Tampa Bay 37 with 5 seconds remaining. Michael Koenen attempted a 55-yard field goal on the final play, but couldn't duplicate a 58-yarder he made on his only other attempt this season.