Falcons Pass Buccaneers In a Hurry : NFC: Atlanta uses a club-record 33-point second quarter to forge 43-7 victory.

Quarterback Chris Miller of the Atlanta Falcons told his offensive linemen he would buy them dinner if they took care of him during Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Hungry for a victory after being embarrassed in the Falcons’ previous game, the linemen responded by giving Miller enough protection to throw three scoring passes to Andre Rison during a club-record 33-point second quarter that carried the Falcons to a 43-7 victory.

Miller was bothered by cracked ribs that forced him to sit out the previous week’s 56-17 loss at Washington.

“I can deal with the discomfort,” said Miller, who completed 14 of 23 passes for 212 yards. “The whole line did a good job. I didn’t take any shots.”

All three touchdown pass plays came in the final six minutes of the half, turning the game into a rout.

“When a quarterback has that much time to throw, we all look like we’re All-World,” said Rison, who had six receptions for 89 yards and the first three-touchdown game of his career.

The Falcons (6-5) stayed in the chase for an NFC wild-card playoff berth and handed the Buccaneers (2-9) their 12th consecutive defeat on the road.

The 33-point second quarter bettered Atlanta’s previous mark of 31 set against Green Bay in 1981.

Norm Johnson started the Falcons’ scoring spree with a 31-yard field goal 10 seconds into the second quarter.

Steve Broussard scored on a five-yard run with 7:54 left in the half, and the Falcons got a safety with 6:45 left when Brian Jordan sacked Vinny Testaverde, forcing a fumble that rolled out of the end zone.

Less than a minute later, Miller connected with Rison on a 39-yard scoring pass play, ending an Atlanta scoring run of 16 points in 77 seconds.

The two combined for two more scoring plays in the final 50 seconds of the half on passes covering 12 and 15 yards, the last coming after Deion Sanders returned an interception 31 yards 22 seconds before halftime.

Atlanta’s defense also scored when Oliver Barnett picked up a fumble by quarterback Jeff Carlson and ran 75 yards for a touchdown with 7:23 left in the game. Rookie Moe Gardner forced the fumble with a sack of Carlson.

The Buccaneers avoided a shutout when Carlson threw a four-yard touchdown pass to rookie Lawrence Dawsey with 4:47 left.