The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Atlanta Falcons meet again this coming Sunday, this time in the Falcons’ nest. Will Tampa Bay add to its lead atop the NFC South division? Or will Atlanta improve their chances for at least a wild card berth in the playoffs? Check out our preview of this game below.
Tom Brady played like he’s really 44 years old, but the Buccaneers still managed to eke out a 38-31 win on the road against the Indianapolis Colts, thanks to Tampa Bay’s defense and Leonard Fournette. Fournette rushed for 100 yards and three touchdowns and added a receiving touchdown for a wild four-touchdown performance. Fournette was almost like sending a warning to Atlanta, which the Bucs beat in Week 2 at home, 48-25. But it was Brady who took them to the woodshed in that game, passing for 276 yards and five touchdowns with zero interceptions on 24/36 completions. Maybe seeing the Falcons’ lousy defense will light a fire under Brady for a huge rebound performance. After all, Atlanta entered Week 12 with the second-worst scoring defense and a passing defense that allowed opponents to complete over 70% of their passes.
The Buccaneers are 4-2 straight-up in their last six road games against Atlanta.
The Falcons stopped the bleeding with a 21-14 road win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 12 that prevented a three-game skid. Running back Cordarrelle Patterson rescued Atlanta with his performance on Sunday, rushing for 108 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries. Meanwhile, Russell Gage had six catches on seven targets for 62 receiving yards and a touchdown. Atlanta was torched by the Bucs offense in the first meeting but Matt Ryan and company also had their moments in that game. Ryan passed for 300 yards and two touchdowns, albeit with three interceptions, on 35/46 completions. Patterson also struck against the Bucs then, posting two touchdowns (rushing and receiving). Atlanta’s defense is among the worst in the NFL, but it did record three sacks and forced a turnover in Week 2’s showdown with the reigning Super Bowl champions.
The under is 2-0 in the Falcons’ last two games as the home team.
