ATLANTA (Ticker) -- The Tampa Bay Buccaneers finally yielded a touchdown, and Warren Sapp was giddy to get one of his own.
In another dominant defensive performance, the Buccaneers forced five turnovers and held the Atlanta Falcons to 136 total yards in a 31-10 rout.
Sapp, one of the linchpins of the defense, helped hold the Falcons to 29 rushing yards and also lined up as a tight end and made the first touchdown catch of his nine-year career.
"I"m much more into taking a football from a quarterback than I am in catching one from him," Sapp said.
But the six-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle cradled the ball in his arms and hopped and twirled in the end zone after catching a six-yard touchdown pass from Brad Johnson with 1:55 left in the second quarter, giving the Bucs a 17-3 lead.
"We decided to go with our heavy personnel package and Warren made the play," said Bucs coach Jon Gruden. "It just adds to the legacy of Warren Sapp."
Ironically, Sapp's only previous touchdown came on a five-yard interception return against the Falcons on October 22, 1995.
This was supposed to be a matchup of Michael Vick against the NFL's best defense, led by Sapp, linebacker Derrick Brooks, end Simeon Rice and strong safety John Lynch. But the league's fastest quarterback is recovering from a broken fibula suffered in the preseason, leaving Doug Johnson to to deal with the Bucs.
As expected, the fourth-year backup quarterback fared poorly against Tampa Bay's cover-2 scheme for the second straight year, getting intercepted three times and throwing for just 95 yards.
"You can't win throwing three interceptions. I have to do a better job," Johnson said. "They're a great team personnel wise on defense. They're not going to try and fool you."
Last October 6, Johnson replaced an injured Vick and was intercepted here three times in a 20-6 loss to the Bucs. This time, Johnson threw all of his interceptions in the second quarter. He was pulled in the fourth quarter by coach Dan Reeves in favor of Kurt Kittner, who was also intercepted.
The Buccaneers (2-1) did not give up a touchdown in each of their first two games of the season and probably would not have given one up Sunday if not for a fumble by running back Thomas Jones that was returned 37 yards by Falcons linebacker Sam Rogers to the Tampa Bay 2 in the third quarter.
After former Buc Warrick Dunn was stuffed on two running plays, Woodrow Dantzler lined up at quarterback and scored on a one-yard run around right end 4:47 into the third quarter, pulling the Falcons (1-2) within 17-10.
"Everyone wants to contribute when they get a chance," Dantzler said. "We needed to get into the end zone there and I was going to do anything I could to get in."
But the Bucs responded with a 10-play, 73-yard touchdown drive as Brad Johnson completed 5-of-5 passes for 46 yards. Fullback Mike Alstott capped it with a two-yard scoring run up the middle.
After John Howell recovered a fumble by Brian Kozlowski on the ensuing kickoff at the Atlanta 40, the Bucs needed just five running plays to reach the end zone again. Alstott broke off a 29-yard run before plunging in from the 1 to increase Tampa Bay's lead to 31-10 with 1:39 left in the quarter.
Many of the fans at the Georgia Dome headed for the exits after Alstott's second touchdown, recognizing no comeback was forthcoming against Tampa Bay's defense.
Excluding the playoffs, the Buccaneers had not allowed a touchdown in 14 straight quarters before Dantzler reached the end zone.
With Doug Johnson at quarterback, Reeves employed a conservative game plan. But the Bucs completely shut down Atlanta's running game, holding the Falcons to 29 yards on 19 carries. Dunn, who is in his second year with Atlanta after spending the first five years of his career with the Bucs, had just seven yards on nine carries.
"The thing we wanted to do was eliminate the running game," Sapp said. "We take it personal when a team runs against us. Once we get a running game in control, we can beat anybody. We were ready to roll from the first snap today."
Last week, Tampa Bay allowed 142 rushing yards to Stephen Davis in a 12-9 loss to Carolina.
"To win like we did today is something that champions do," said Bucs safety John Lynch, who had an interception. "Last year when we did stub our toE and lose a game, we always came back and won. So losing last week was on our minds."
The Buccaneers beat the Falcons for the sixth straight time, including a sweep last season by the combined score of 54-16. Brad Johnson completed 40-of-62 passes for 537 yards and five touchdowns with one interception.
On Sunday, Johnson was 16-of-24 for 192 yards and two touchdowns. Atlanta held Keenan McCardell and Keyshawn Johnson to a combined six catches for 66 yards, but running back Michael Pittman hurt the Falcons out of the backfield with a 68-yard touchdown catch.
On a 3rd-and-2 play at the Tampa Bay 32, Pittman lined up on the left and got behind linebacker Keith Brooking. Brad Johnson lofted a perfect pass, Pittman caught it in stride and raced down the left sideline into the end zone, giving Tampa Bay a 10-3 lead with 9:02 left in the second quarter.
"On that TD, I was real tired," Pittman said. "I kept telling myself 'where's the end zone, where's the end zone' after I made the catch. Brad made a perfect throw."
"Keith Brooking is a great linebacker and has covered a lot of our stuff in the past," Gruden said. "We were able to get a little bit of a rub and he (Pittman) was able to take the angle that he needed."
Pittman had 164 yards from scrimmage, rushing for 82 yards on 20 carries and catching seven passes for 82.
Safety Dwight Smith had two interceptions and Lynch and linebacker Ryan Nece had one apiece for the Bucs, who have forced at least one turnover in 44 consecutive games.
Smith returned the first of his two interceptions three yards to the Atlanta 37 with 4:51 left in the half. Keyshawn Johnson made a 15-yard catch on a 3rd-and-12 play and a defensive holding penalty on Cory Hall preceded Sapp's touchdown.
The Falcons failed for the second week in a row in their attempt to get Reeves his 200th win.
"You can't make mistakes against them and we made way too many," Reeves said. "That's what they thrive on and defensively, we gave up big plays."
