Going into Thursday night's game against the Buccaneers, the Falcons knew they had to play hard and put up big numbers, especially since it was a division game.
They did just that.
Starting fast on the first drive of the game, Matt Ryan and his offense took only six plays and went 70 yards in 2:57. From that point on, through the middle of the third quarter, the Falcons out-played the Bucs in all three phases of the game.
FiveThirtyEight.com contributor Neil Paine thinks had the Falcons not pulled their starters, they could have had the opportunity to surpass Chicago's 73-0 blowout, which is also the NFL-record, during the 1940 NFC Championship Game against Washington.
The average point margin at a given moment during Thursday night's win, also known as the game script by FiveThirtyEight contributor Chase Stuart, was 32.9, putting the Falcons dominance over the Bucs in sixth place overall in NFL history, third place for non-playoff games.
