FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Mike Smith wants his first two playoff losses with the Falcons to be “growing experiences” that will help his team prepare for Sunday’s first-round road game against the New York Giants.

With Smith in his first season as coach and Matt Ryan starting as a rookie quarterback, the Falcons lost to Arizona in the first round of the playoffs after the 2008 season. The Falcons had a first-round bye last year before losing 48-21 to Green Bay.

Smith said it’s important the Falcons (10-6) learn from the losses. He said based on those lessons he is planning tweaks to the Falcons’ practice this week.

“I know we’ve had two postseason games prior to this,” Smith said. “We haven’t gotten the outcome we’ve wanted. We are learning from those experiences. We’re going to use those as growing experiences and we’re looking forward to competing this week, and that’s not just Matt Ryan.

“That’s Mike Smith and every member of our team.”

The Falcons, who never enjoyed back-to-back winning seasons before Smith’s arrival in 2008, now have four straight winning seasons and the team’s first back-to-back playoff berths. The obvious missing piece in Smith’s otherwise impressive record is a playoff win.

Smith said he’s glad the Falcons, who capped their regular season with Sunday’s 45-24 win over Tampa Bay, can move straight into their playoff week.

“I think the way that it went down last year, I’d rather be up this week and go ahead and play,” he said. “That was one of the things I don’t know that we handled as well as we should of, the way that I structured it. I think if we get in that situation again we’ll handle it a little bit differently.”

Smith said he also discussed other changes for this week.

“In our staff meeting today, I brought out the notebook in terms of things we wrote down,” Smith said, referring to his notes from the last two playoff games. “You learn from everything that you do in terms of how you prepare. In terms of the actual scheduling, we’re not going to change that, but there are some things we definitely are going to do a little bit differently.”

He wouldn’t provide details of his planned changes.

“Some things I’d rather not talk about in terms of subtle changes in our installation and how we’re going to present things to our football team,” he said.

The NFL’s new collective bargaining agreement strictly limits the number of practices in full pads. Smith said the Falcons have not worked out in full pads since Week 13. He said his players could work in full pads in one practice this week.

“So it changes a little bit from what we’ve been doing in the last six or seven weeks of the season,” he said.

The Falcons had four turnovers, including two interceptions by Ryan, in last year’s playoff loss to Green Bay. They had three turnovers, including Ryan’s two interceptions, in their 30-24 loss to Arizona.

“There was a common theme in terms of you can’t turn the football over,” Smith said. “That was the pressing thing.

“It’s no different than regular-season football, but we’ve got to make sure that we have ball security. We cannot turn the ball over in the postseason. It’s imperative.”

The Falcons led the Buccaneers 42-0 on Sunday before pulling Ryan and other starters out of the game.

Ryan said the runaway win gave the offense momentum for the playoffs.

“I think it kind of put us in a little bit of a rhythm,” Ryan said.

“We made the plays and that’s what we need to do moving forward. I think everybody’s confidence is very high heading into next week.”

Smith said the Falcons have given the Jacksonville Jaguars permission to interview offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey for their head coach position. The interview is likely to take place next week.

Linebacker Stephen Nicholas, held out of Sunday’s game with a toe injury, worked on the practice field with trainers on Monday but is doubtful for the Giants game, according to Smith.

ATLANTA (AP) —
Michael Turner
and the Falcons didn’t want to settle for just making the playoffs.

They wanted momentum and the best seed possible.

Hoping for a fast start, the Falcons set a team record with 42 first-half points, including two touchdown runs by Turner,
and Atlanta cruised to a 45-24 win over the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
on Sunday to clinch the No. 5 seed.

Julio Jones
caught two touchdown passes in a span of 26 seconds in the first quarter as the Falcons gave the Buccaneers their 10th straight
loss.

“We didn’t want to come down to the wire, backing into the playoffs,” Turner said.

The Falcons were motivated by two blowout losses – 48-21 to Green Bay in last year’s playoffs and 45-16 at New Orleans last
week.

“Getting embarrassed like that last year, that’s not who we were,” Turner said. “We just wanted another chance.”

The Falcons (10-6) and Detroit (10-6) are the NFC wild cards. Atlanta, which beat Detroit on Oct. 23, won the tiebreaker with
the Lions for the more favorable seeding. The Falcons will play at the winner of Sunday night’s Dallas-
New York Giants
game in the first round of the playoffs.

“We wanted to play our final regular-season game with a lot of intensity and energy, and I think we did that in all three
phases,” Falcons coach
Mike Smith
said.

Josh Freeman
threw two interceptions and lost a fumble in the first half as the Buccaneers (4-12) closed their season with their 10th straight
loss, leaving the status of coach Raheem Morris in doubt.

“If I was in the business of working out my future, I wouldn’t be coaching,” Morris said. “I’m going to go to work tomorrow
until they tell me to stop.”

The Falcons led 42-0 when they began resting some starters, including quarterback
Matt Ryan
and Turner, late in the first half.

“We had opportunities the week before and just didn’t make the plays,” Ryan said. “Today, we made the plays and I think that’s
what we needed moving forward.”

Ryan was 6 of 9 for 106 yards, including touchdown passes of 17 and 48 yards to Jones in the first quarter.

Tampa Bay, which finished 10-6 last season and started 4-2 this season, is left with its longest losing streak in one season
in 34 years. The Buccaneers also lost 10 straight in 1977. They lost 11 straight between the 2008 and `09 seasons.

“This is not the season we wanted or expected, but we will need to rededicate ourselves and get ready for this offseason,”
Morris said.

Turnovers were a problem for the Buccaneers all season. Freeman began the day tied for the league lead with 19 interceptions
before completing 31 of 45 passes for 274 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions.

With Atlanta leading 42-0, Freeman threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to
Dezmon Briscoe
with about 2 minutes remaining in the first half. Freeman threw a 5-yard TD pass to Briscoe in the fourth quarter.

Tampa Bay’s other touchdown came on
Elbert Mack
‘s 40-yard interception return against Falcons’ backup
Chris Redman
in the third quarter.

Turner ran for 172 yards and two touchdowns, including an 81-yard scoring run late in the first half. The score capped the
Falcons’ run of six unanswered touchdowns.

The Falcons led 21-0 after the first quarter and then put the game away with three more touchdowns in the second quarter.

The strong showing was important for the Falcons. Last week’s loss at New Orleans was the worst in four seasons with Smith.

“The main thing we wanted to do was flush out of our system last week,” tight end
Tony Gonzalez
said.

The Falcons announced before the game Gonzalez, 35, has signed a one-year contract extension, ending speculation he might
retire after this season.

The Falcons had the No. 1 seed in the playoffs last year before losing to the Packers.

Despite the team’s lower seed, Gonzalez said the Falcons are prepared for a longer postseason run.

“Honestly, I’ve said it all year: I think we’re a better team than we were last year,” Gonzalez said.

Rookie
Jacquizz Rodgers
scored on a 1-yard run for his first career touchdown to start the Falcons’ scoring. Rodgers lost a fumble at the Tampa Bay
2 in the fourth quarter.

After Ryan’s first TD pass to Jones,
Dominique Franks
‘ interception on Tampa Bay’s first down gave the ball back to Atlanta.

On first down from the Buccaneers 48, Ryan again threw to Jones, who fought off safety
Tanard Jackson
for the catch. Jones then jumped up from the turf, hit cornerback E.J. Biggers with a stiff-arm and then dragged Biggers into
the end zone.

Turner had two touchdown runs and
Curtis Lofton
returned an interception 26 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter.

Matt Bryant
kicked a 20-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter after the Buccaneers were stopped on fourth down at their 10.

Notes: Ryan passed Jeff George for the Falcons’ most yards passing in a season. George threw for 4,143 yards in 1995. Ryan
has 4,177. … Turner has 50 rushing touchdowns in four seasons with the Falcons, passing Gerald Riggs’ team record of 48.
… WR
Roddy White
also celebrated a milestone, passing Terance Mathis for the most yards receiving with the Falcons. Mathis had 7,349 yards
from 1994-2001. White finished the game with 7,374 for his career. … By playing in his 225th game with Tampa Bay, CB
Ronde Barber
passed Derrick Brooks for the team record.

© 2011 STATS LLC

ATLANTA — Michael Turner and the Falcons didn’t want to settle for just making the playoffs.

They wanted momentum and the best seed possible.

Hoping for a fast start, the Falcons set a team record with 42 first-half points, including two touchdown runs by Turner, and Atlanta cruised to a 45-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday to clinch the No. 5 seed.

Julio Jones caught two touchdown passes in a span of 26 seconds in the first quarter as the Falcons gave the Buccaneers their 10th straight loss.

“We didn’t want to come down to the wire, backing into the playoffs,” Turner said.

The Falcons were motivated by two blowout losses — 48-21 to Green Bay in last year’s playoffs and 45-16 at New Orleans last week.

“Getting embarrassed like that last year, that’s not who we were,” Turner said. “We just wanted another chance.”

The Falcons (10-6) and Detroit (10-6) are the NFC wild cards. Atlanta, which beat Detroit on Oct. 23, won the tiebreaker with the Lions for the more favorable seeding. The Falcons will play at the New York Giants in the first round of the playoffs.

“We wanted to play our final regular-season game with a lot of intensity and energy, and I think we did that in all three phases,” Falcons coach Mike Smith said.

Josh Freeman threw two interceptions and lost a fumble in the first half as the Buccaneers (4-12) closed their season with their 10th straight loss, leaving the status of coach Raheem Morris in doubt.

“If I was in the business of working out my future, I wouldn’t be coaching,” Morris said. “I’m going to go to work tomorrow until they tell me to stop.”

The Falcons led 42-0 when they began resting some starters, including quarterback Matt Ryan and Turner, late in the first half.

“We had opportunities the week before and just didn’t make the plays,” Ryan said. “Today, we made the plays and I think that’s what we needed moving forward.”

Ryan was 6 of 9 for 106 yards, including touchdown passes of 17 and 48 yards to Jones in the first quarter.

Tampa Bay, which finished 10-6 last season and started 4-2 this season, is left with its longest losing streak in one season in 34 years. The Buccaneers also lost 10 straight in 1977. They lost 11 straight between the 2008 and 2009 seasons.

“This is not the season we wanted or expected, but we will need to rededicate ourselves and get ready for this offseason,” Morris said.

Turnovers were a problem for the Buccaneers all season. Freeman began the day tied for the league lead with 19 interceptions before completing 31 of 45 passes for 274 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions.

With Atlanta leading 42-0, Freeman threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Dezmon Briscoe with about 2 minutes remaining in the first half. Freeman threw a 5-yard TD pass to Briscoe in the fourth quarter.

Tampa Bay’s other touchdown came on Elbert Mack’s 40-yard interception return against Falcons’ backup Chris Redman in the third quarter.

Turner ran for 172 yards and two touchdowns, including an 81-yard scoring run late in the first half. The score capped the Falcons’ run of six unanswered touchdowns.

The Falcons led 21-0 after the first quarter and then put the game away with three more touchdowns in the second quarter.

The strong showing was important for the Falcons. Last week’s loss at New Orleans was the worst in four seasons with Smith.

“The main thing we wanted to do was flush out of our system last week,” tight end Tony Gonzalez said.

The Falcons announced before the game Gonzalez, 35, has signed a one-year contract extension, ending speculation he might retire after this season.

The Falcons had the No. 1 seed in the playoffs last year before losing to the Packers.

Despite the team’s lower seed, Gonzalez said the Falcons are prepared for a longer postseason run.

“Honestly, I’ve said it all year: I think we’re a better team than we were last year,” Gonzalez said.

Rookie Jacquizz Rodgers scored on a 1-yard run for his first career touchdown to start the Falcons’ scoring. Rodgers lost a fumble at the Tampa Bay 2 in the fourth quarter.

After Ryan’s first TD pass to Jones, Dominique Franks’ interception on Tampa Bay’s first down gave the ball back to Atlanta.

On first down from the Buccaneers 48, Ryan again threw to Jones, who fought off safety Tanard Jackson for the catch. Jones then jumped up from the turf, hit cornerback E.J. Biggers with a stiff-arm and then dragged Biggers into the end zone.

Turner had two touchdown runs and Curtis Lofton returned an interception 26 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter.

Matt Bryant kicked a 20-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter after the Buccaneers were stopped on fourth down at their 10.

Notes: Ryan passed Jeff George for the Falcons’ most yards passing in a season. George threw for 4,143 yards in 1995. Ryan has 4,177. … Turner has 50 rushing touchdowns in four seasons with the Falcons, passing Gerald Riggs’ team record of 48. … WR Roddy White also celebrated a milestone, passing Terance Mathis for the most yards receiving with the Falcons. Mathis had 7,349 yards from 1994-2001. White finished the game with 7,374 for his career. … By playing in his 225th game with Tampa Bay, CB Ronde Barber passed Derrick Brooks for the team record.

Tampa Bay 0 7 11 6–24

Atlanta 21 21 0 3–45

First Quarter

Atl–Rodgers 1 run (Bryant kick), 8:12. Drive: 12 plays, 80 yards, 6:48. Key Plays: Turner 26 run; Ryan 23 pass to White on 3rd-and-11; Ryan 8 pass to Gonzalez on 3rd-and-6; Turner 2 run on 3rd-and-1. Atlanta 7, Tampa Bay 0.

Atl–Jones 17 pass from Ryan (Bryant kick), 3:30. Drive: 7 plays, 53 yards, 2:52. Key Plays: Bennett 15-yard roughing the passer penalty; Turner 13 run. Atlanta 14, Tampa Bay 0.

Atl–Jones 48 pass from Ryan (Bryant kick), 3:04. Drive: 1 play, 48 yards, 0:12. Key Play: Franks interception at Tampa Bay 48. Atlanta 21, Tampa Bay 0.

Second Quarter

Atl–Turner 1 run (Bryant kick), 11:40. Drive: 7 plays, 30 yards, 3:34. Key Plays: Abraham fumble recovery (Freeman); Turner 14 run. Atlanta 28, Tampa Bay 0.

Atl–Lofton 26 interception return (Bryant kick), 10:43. Atlanta 35, Tampa Bay 0.

Atl–Turner 81 run (Bryant kick), 6:49. Drive: 2 plays, 86 yards, 0:50. Atlanta 42, Tampa Bay 0.

TB–Briscoe 2 pass from Freeman (Barth kick), 2:04. Drive: 7 plays, 80 yards, 4:45. Key Plays: Freeman 48 pass to Parker; Freeman 13 pass to Winslow. Atlanta 42, Tampa Bay 7.

Third Quarter

TB–FG Barth 41, 4:19. Drive: 10 plays, 53 yards, 5:27. Key Plays: Freeman 10 pass to Blount; Freeman 11 pass to Parker; Freeman 31 pass to Williams; Freeman 10 pass to Winslow. Atlanta 42, Tampa Bay 10.

TB–Mack 40 interception return (Winslow pass from Freeman), 3:32. Atlanta 42, Tampa Bay 18.

Fourth Quarter

TB–Briscoe 5 pass from Freeman (run failed), 11:13. Drive: 10 plays, 77 yards, 5:03. Key Plays: Freeman 22 pass to Winslow; Freeman 11 pass to Blount; Freeman 9 pass to Briscoe on 3rd-and-8. Atlanta 42, Tampa Bay 24.

Atl–FG Bryant 20, 3:59. Drive: 4 plays, 8 yards, 2:10. Key Play: Gained possession on downs at Tampa Bay 10. Atlanta 45, Tampa Bay 24.

A–68,167.

TB Atl

FIRST DOWNS 18 22

Rushing 3 13

Passing 15 8

Penalty 0 1

THIRD DOWN EFF 6-12 6-11

FOURTH DOWN EFF 0-1 1-1

TOTAL NET YARDS 294 428

Total Plays 61 59

Avg Gain 4.8 7.3

NET YARDS RUSHING 35 251

Rushes 14 38

Avg per rush 2.5 6.6

NET YARDS PASSING 259 177

Sacked-Yds lost 2-15 0-0

Gross-Yds passing 274 177

Completed-Att. 31-45 13-21

Had Intercepted 3 1

Yards-Pass Play 5.5 8.4

KICKOFFS-EndZone-TB 5-4-4 8-7-5

PUNTS-Avg. 3-49.7 2-50.5

Punts blocked 0 0

FGs-PATs blocked 0-0 0-0

TOTAL RETURN YARDAGE 108 58

Punt Returns 2-15 1-9

Kickoff Returns 3-53 0-0

Interceptions 1-40 3-49

PENALTIES-Yds 2-20 3-20

FUMBLES-Lost 3-1 1-1

TIME OF POSSESSION 29:52 30:08

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING–Tampa Bay, Freeman 3-14, Blount 6-12, J.Johnson 1-5, Madu 2-4, Lumpkin 2-0. Atlanta, Turner 17-172, Snelling 9-50, Rodgers 8-24, Jones 1-9, Redman 3-(minus 4).

PASSING–Tampa Bay, Freeman 31-45-3-274. Atlanta, Ryan 6-9-0-106, Redman 7-12-1-71.

RECEIVING–Tampa Bay, Briscoe 8-53, Winslow 7-56, Lumpkin 5-27, Parker 4-74, Madu 3-19, Blount 3-14, Williams 1-31. Atlanta, Jones 4-76, White 4-69, Gonzalez 1-8, Weems 1-8, Palmer 1-7, Rodgers 1-5, Snelling 1-4.

PUNT RETURNS–Tampa Bay, Spurlock 2-15. Atlanta, Weems 1-9.

KICKOFF RETURNS–Tampa Bay, Parker 2-41, Spurlock 1-12. Atlanta, None.

TACKLES-ASSISTS-SACKS–Tampa Bay, Asante 7-1-0, Foster 4-2-0, Mack 3-2-0, Barber 3-1-0, Biggers 3-1-0, Haynesworth 3-0-0, Okam 3-0-0, Bennett 2-0-0, Bowers 2-0-0, Briscoe 2-0-0, Miller 2-0-0, A.Black 1-2-0, Q.Black 1-1-0, Freeman 1-0-0, Jackson 1-0-0, Lewis 1-0-0, Hayes 0-3-0, Jones 0-3-0, Clayborn 0-1-0, Price 0-1-0. Atlanta, Lofton 8-6-0, DeCoud 6-2-0, Owens 3-3-0, Weatherspoon 3-3-0, Franks 3-2-0, Moore 2-4-0½, Biermann 1-3-0½, Adkins 1-2-0, Babineaux 1-1-0, Abraham 1-0-1, Edwards 1-0-0, Sidbury 1-0-0, Smith 1-0-0, Dent 0-2-0, Sanders 0-2-0, Peters 0-1-0, Rodgers 0-1-0.

INTERCEPTIONS–Tampa Bay, Mack 1-40. Atlanta, Lofton 1-26, Walls 1-23, Franks 1-0.

MISSED FIELD GOALS–None.

OFFICIALS–Referee Scott Green, Ump Bruce Stritesky, HL Tom Stabile, LJ Tom Barnes, FJ Dyrol Prioleau, SJ Larry Rose, BJ Scott Helverson, Replay Carl Madsen.

Time: 2:58.

The Atlanta Falcons grabbed the lead _ and the No. 5 seed in the
playoffs _ and wouldn’t let go.

Julio Jones caught two touchdown passes in a span of 26 seconds,
Michael Turner ran for two scores and the Falcons used a
team-record 42 first-half points to cruise to a 45-24 win over the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday to clinch the No. 5 seed in the NFC
playoffs.

The Falcons (10-6) and Detroit (10-6) are the NFC wild cards.
Atlanta, which beat Detroit on Oct. 23, won the tiebreaker with the
Lions for the more favorable seeding. The Falcons will play at the
winner of Sunday night’s Dallas-New York Giants game in the first
round of the playoffs.

“We wanted to play our final regular-season game with a lot of
intensity and energy, and I think we did that in all three phases,”
Falcons coach Mike Smith said.

Josh Freeman threw two interceptions and lost a fumble in the
first half as the Buccaneers (4-12) closed their season with their
10th straight loss, leaving the status of coach Raheem Morris in
doubt.

The Falcons led 42-0 when it began resting some of its starters,
including quarterback Matt Ryan and Turner, late in the first
half.

Tampa Bay, which finished 10-6 last season and started 4-2 this
season, is left with its longest losing streak in one season in 34
years. The Buccaneers also lost 10 straight in 1977. They lost 11
straight between the 2008 and `09 seasons.

Turnovers were a problem for the Buccaneers all season. Freeman
began the day tied for the league lead with 19 interceptions before
adding three to the dismal total, including one with 1:39
remaining.

Freeman completed 31 of 45 passes for 274 yards with two
touchdowns and three interceptions.

With Atlanta leading 42-0, Freeman threw a 2-yard touchdown pass
to Dezmon Briscoe with about 2 minutes remaining in the first half.
Freeman threw a 5-yard TD pass to Briscoe in the fourth
quarter.

Tampa Bay’s other touchdown came on Elbert Mack’s 40-yard
interception return against Falcons’ backup Chris Redman in the
third quarter.

Turner ran for 172 yards and two touchdowns, including an
81-yard scoring run late in the first half. The score capped the
Falcons’ run of six unanswered touchdowns.

The Falcons led 21-0 after the first quarter and then put the
game away with three more touchdowns in the second quarter.

The strong showing was important for the Falcons, who were
coming off a 45-16 loss at New Orleans that was the worst loss in
four seasons with Smith.

“We had some things we needed to get fixed from the previous
game and I’m really proud of the way the guys bounced back,” Smith
said.

Ryan was 6 of 9 for 106 yards, including touchdown passes of 17
and 48 yards to Jones in the first quarter.

Rookie Jacquizz Rodgers scored on a 1-yard run for his first
career touchdown to start the Falcons’ scoring. Rodgers lost a
fumble at the Tampa Bay 2 in the fourth quarter.

After Ryan’s first TD pass to Jones, Dominique Franks’
interception on Tampa Bay’s first down gave the ball back to
Atlanta.

On first down from the Buccaneers 48, Ryan again threw to Jones,
who fought off safety Tanard Jackson for the catch. Jones then
jumped up from the turf, hit cornerback E.J. Biggers with a
stiff-arm and then dragged Biggers into the end zone.

Turner had two touchdown runs and Curtis Lofton returned an
interception 26 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter.

Matt Bryant kicked a 20-yard field goal late in the fourth
quarter after the Buccaneers were stopped on fourth down at their
10.

Turner’s two touchdowns gave him a team-record 50 rushing scores
with the Falcons, passing Gerald Riggs’ record of 48.

Roddy White also celebrated a milestone, passing Terance Mathis
for the most yards receiving with the Falcons. Mathis had 7,349
yards from 1994-2001. White began Sunday 44 yards behind Mathis and
set the mark in the third quarter.

TAMPA — The Falcons could have a very limited ability to impact their playoff position in Sunday’s game against the Bucs, but Atlanta maintains it will play to win.

Coach Mike Smith suggested Wednesday that he would not rest his starters or coach differently, but he wasn’t entirely specific.

“Our preparation week is going to be no different than any other week,” Smith said. “We know there are some things that are set in concrete. We know we’ll be playing the following week. We don’t know who or where or when, and we’ve just got to go through our normal preparation and prepare to beat Tampa Bay.

“That’s our entire focus this week. We’re not thinking about the second season.”

The Bucs (4-11) hope to end the season by snapping a nine-game losing streak.

The Falcons (9-6), meanwhile, will know by the 4:15 kickoff if their game affects their playoff seeding. If the Lions defeat the Packers earlier in the day, the Falcons are the sixth seed, no matter the outcome of the Bucs game. But if the Lions lose, the Falcons can grab the fifth seed with a win.

All-Pro TE Tony Gonzalez said the Falcons want to play to win after their 45-16 thumping at the hands of the Saints on Monday night.

“It’s business as usual around here,” Gonzalez said. “We’re going to try to go out and win a football game against a really good team that beat us earlier in the season. I don’t think anybody’s mind-set around here is that we’re going to go ahead and rest, especially after last week the way we performed against the Saints. We have to go out there and put on a good performance going into the playoffs.”

WELL DESERVED: RG Davin Joseph‘s selection to the Pro Bowl this week didn’t surprise QB Josh Freeman. And it probably shouldn’t have surprised some of the Bucs’ opponents, either.

“I remember Ndamukong Suh before the first game said, ‘Man, you’ve got to keep (No.) 75 from cheap (shots),’ ” Freeman said of the Lions’ defensive tackle. “I’m like, ‘Are you really telling me this? You of all people?’ Guys throughout the year said the same thing. (Texans LB) Brian Cushing comes to mind. They know about Davin. They know what a great player he is, and it’s great to have him on our team.”

For his part, Joseph, headed to his second Pro Bowl, said he’d take team accomplishments over individual ones.

“If you give me 10 wins, I’d trade it all in,” said the 2006 first-round pick out of Oklahoma. “It just shows we have talent, and there’s no doubt we put in a lot of work. It just hasn’t panned out for us right now. But, soon, it will.”

In a season full of negatives, Joseph’s play has stood out, according to Freeman: “Davin has been a major bright spot, the effort that guy gives, his intensity. I hear guys all the time talk about, ‘You’ve got to keep that No. 75, watch out for him. Tell him to cut out the cheap shots.’ (They) are not cheap shots. They’re hustle plays.”

INJURY REPORT: The Bucs are limping into their final game as decimated by injuries as they’ve been all season. The injury report includes seven players who were unable to practice Wednesday in any capacity: WR Arrelious Benn (neck), DE Michael Bennett (toe), DT Albert Haynesworth (knee), DT Roy Miller (back), DT Brian Price (ankle), WR Preston Parker (concussion) and RT Jeremy Trueblood (concussion). The defensive line is particularly thin, with only three defensive tackles available Wednesday: Frank Okam, new signee Jovan Haye and practice squad member Lamar Divens.

Staff writer Rick Stroud contributed to this report.