Turner scores 2 TDs, Falcons hold off Bucs

ATLANTA -- The best team in the NFC?

Not on this day.

Michael Turner scored two early touchdowns and the Atlanta Falcons held off Tampa Bay with a gutty goal-line stand, taking over sole possession of first place in the NFC South with a 27-21 victory Sunday.

Tampa Bay coach Raheem Morris had proclaimed his team the best in the NFC, and it looked like the Buccaneers might back him up after Michael Spurlock had an 89-yard touchdown on a kickoff return and Josh Freeman guided a drive that reached the Atlanta 2.

On fourth-and-1, Freeman faked a handoff to Ryan Purvis, a tight end lined up at fullback, and then gave it to LeGarrette Blount for a run over right tackle. But Thomas DeCoud charged up to stuff the play, and Coy Wire finished off Blount to make sure he couldn't stretch out for a first down.

The ball went over to the Falcons (6-2), who ran out the clock after Turner picked up the necessary first down with one final run. He finished with 24 carries for 107 yards, his fourth 100-yard performance in the past six games.

Give the Bucs credit, though.

The Falcons thoroughly dominated much of the game and Freeman - who had been doing a good job not turning the ball over - had a pair of interceptions.

But Tampa Bay (5-3) dominated on special teams and still had a chance at the end to pull out the victory in a matchup of the teams that came into the day tied with the New York Giants for the best record in the conference. The Giants were playing at Seattle later Sunday.

Turner scored on runs of 2 and 10 yards to stake the Falcons to a 14-0 lead, but Freeman cut the gap to 17-14 by halftime with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Arrelious Benn and a 58-yarder to Mike Williams.

On the third play of the second half, Freeman threw a wobbly pass under pressure from Kroy Biermann and it landed right in the arms of defensive tackle Jonathan Babineaux. That set up a 5-yard touchdown pass from Matt Ryan to Michael Palmer, the first career score for the undrafted rookie.

Matt Bryant added his second field goal, pushing the Falcons ahead 27-14.

Back came the Bucs.

The ensuing kickoff landed between Spurlock and Maurice Stovall in an apparent mix-up. But Spurlock picked up the bouncing ball at the 11, slipped through a hole, somehow stayed inbound when kicker Michael Koenen took a dive at him along the sideline and streaked the rest of the way for the touchdown that again made a game of it.

Trying to seize on that momentum, Tampa Bay appeared to get the ball back when kicker Connor Barth recovered an onside attempt. But the Falcons challenged, and the replay showed the ball touched Barth's left knee just before it covered the necessary 10 yards, giving it over to Atlanta.

The Falcons got a big scare in the first quarter when Roddy White, leading the NFL with 56 receptions through seven games, twisted his right knee making an 11-yard catch along the sideline.

White limped off the field, got treated on the bench, then came back in the game. His return didn't last long, and he walked slowly to the locker room late in the first half.

He waited until everyone had emerged from the tunnel for the second half before he came trotting back on. White made a couple of sharp cuts on the sideline to test the knee, then trotted back on the field after Babineaux's interception.

White caught a crucial first down pass to the 1 and finished with four receptions for 49 yards.