RUSSELL GAGE

The New Orleans Saints just missed making the playoffs on Sunday, despite beating the Atlanta Falcons 30-20.

It was the kind of ending that Tim Boyle dreamed up many times in his quest to be a starting quarterback in the NFL.

Tom Brady threw for 368 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to the brink of an NFC South title with a 30-17 victory over the Atlanta Falcons.

Matt Ryan hit Cordarrelle Patterson for a 64-yard gain with a minute to go, setting up Younghoe Koo’s 29-yard field goal as time expired, and the Atlanta Falcons defeated the mistake-prone New Orleans Saints 27-25.

Tom Brady threw for 276 yards and five touchdowns, helping the Tampa Bay Buccaneers extend their winning streak to a franchise-record 10 consecutive games with a 48-25 victory over the Atlanta Falcons.

The Atlanta Falcons have launched their mandatory minicamp.

The Atlanta Falcons began their offseason training program without longtime star receiver Julio Jones, who apparently has no intention of returning to a rebuilding team that is still struggling to get under the salary cap.

Brady threw touchdown passes of 29 and 4 yards to Chris Godwin. Ryan scored on a 1-yard sneak and also threw scoring passes of 19 yards to Russell Gage and 1 yard to Hayden Hurst. The latter trimmed Atlanta’s deficit to 30-27 before Brady put the game away with two late drives. Brown had his most productive day since joining the Bucs midway through the season with 11 catches for 138 yards. Godwin had five receptions for 133 yards, while Evans had three catches for 46 yards before leaving the game.

The Chargers and Falcons are tied at 17 midway through the fourth quarter. Kenny Moore also starred for the Colts with a spectacular one-handed, diving end-zone interception in the second quarter. Adams didn’t do much other than run the scrambling Darnold to the sideline midway through the second quarter. Seattle took its opening possession and got 19-yard touchdown pass from Russell Wilson to Freddie Swain. Mack also recovered a Duke Johnson fumble in the first quarter and deflected a Watson pass in the second quarter.

Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Russell Gage (83) misses the catch against Denver Broncos defensive back Essang Bassey (34) during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2020, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Matt Ryan took advantage of Denver's thin secondary to throw three touchdown passes and the Falcons turned back Drew Lock's bid for a second consecutive comeback to beat the Broncos 34-27 on Sunday. The Broncos' fourth-quarter comeback attempt gave Ryan and the Falcons a scary reminder of blown leads this season. Lock threw two touchdown passes and ran for a 10-yard score in the final quarter that made it 34-27. Lock answered with a 9-yard scoring pass to Tim Patrick with less than four minutes remaining. We'll get them next time.”CATCH THISZaccheaus beat Davontae Harris for a 51-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter.

Detroit Lions defensive end Trey Flowers (90) celebrates during the second half of an NFL football game against the Atlanta Falcons, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2020, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Detroit Lions wide receiver Kenny Golladay (19) makes the catch against Atlanta Falcons cornerback A.J. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)ATLANTA – The Lions let the Falcons score a touchdown. Matthew Stafford connected with T.J. Hockenson on an 11-yard touchdown pass as time expired and Matt Prater booted a 48-yard extra point to give Detroit an improbable 23-22 victory over Atlanta on Sunday. The Lions (3-3) won their second in a row — their first winning streak since early in the 2019 season. Touchdown, Lions.

Chicago Bears strong safety Tashaun Gipson (38) celebrates his interception of Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2020, in Atlanta. The Chicago Bears won 30-26. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

The Falcons surrendered a 16-point advantage in the final 6 1/2 minutes to the Chicago Bears, who got three touchdown passes from backup quarterback Nick Foles and pulled out a 30-26 win on Sunday. It would have seemed downright improbable — if it hadn't happened for the second week in a row. The former Super Bowl MVP won it with a 28-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Miller with 1:53 remaining. He tossed a 3-yard touchdown pass to Graham to make it 26-16 with 6:20 to go. But Foles got his chance after Trubisky threw an interception in the third quarter that led to a Falcons field goal, pushing the lead to 26-10.

Earlier in the game, Bucs cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting was ruled out with a groin/hamstring injury. Brady threw two touchdown passes to Mike Evans along with another to Chris Godwin. Golladay missed the first two games of the season with a hamstring injury and Detroit has missed his production. The injury woes for Dallas continued when starting center Joe Looney walked to the locker room also with an ankle injury. Out of 48 NFL games so far in 2020, 10 have included paying customers.

Dallas Cowboys' Chris Jones (6) and others celebrate with kicker Greg Zuerlein (2) after Zuerlein kicked a field goal to help the Cowboys to a 40-39 win against the Atlanta Falcons in an NFL football game in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2020. (AP Photo/Michael Ainsworth)

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) talks to an official standing nearby in the first half of an NFL football game against the Atlanta Falcons in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2020. (AP Photo/Ron Jenkins)ARLINGTON, Texas – Greg Zuerlein kicked a 46-yard field goal as time expired, and the Dallas Cowboys overcame four fumbles and a 20-point deficit in the first quarter to beat the Atlanta Falcons 40-39 in coach Mike McCarthy's home debut Sunday. Matt Ryan threw four touchdown passes, two off lost fumbles from the Cowboys, on the way to a 20-0 lead in the first quarter. The Cowboys were down two after the third short touchdown run from Prescott, who threw for 450 yards and a score. Prescott answered with a pair of short rushing touchdowns in the third quarter to get the Cowboys within five.