Buccaneers...31 Falcons...7

ATLANTA -- Tampa Bay played like a team determined to take control of the weak NFC South.

Byron Leftwich played like a quarterback who won’t be starting very long in Atlanta.

Jeff Garcia threw two touchdown passes, Ronde Barber returned a fumble for another score and the Buccaneers’ defense stifled the Leftwich-led Falcons, 31-7, another low for a franchise trying to recover from the Michael Vick debacle.

Atlanta (3-7) had won two straight with Joey Harrington at quarterback and had a chance to pull to within one game of first place in a division where Tampa Bay (6-4) is the only team with a winning record.

Playing behind a short-handed offensive line, Leftwich had one of the worst games in his career, completing 15 of 28 passes for 106 yards with two interceptions and two fumbles.

“To be honest with you, I’ve never been involved with something like this,” Leftwich said of his performance. “It’s difficult to deal with. It should bother everybody. I know it bothers me.”

Quoteworthy: “We’ve got a lot to evaluate in front of us.” -- Bobby Petrino, Falcons coach