The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Atlanta Falcons play their first of two meetings this coming Sunday. The Bucs are still trying to catch the New Orleans Saints atop the NFC South, while the Falcons just want to get a win to feel good about themselves, as they head into an early offseason.
The Buccaneers snapped out of their funk in Week 14, as they defeated the Minnesota Vikings at home last Sunday, 26-14. Defense was the Bucs’ ticket to success in that game. Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins had a rough day at the office against Tampa Bay’s stop unit, as he was sacked six times for a loss of 52 yards. Safety Antoine Winfield Jr. wreaked havoc all over the field, as he recorded 12 total tackles to go with a sack, while linebacker Shaquil Barrett had two sacks. The Bucs are among the top teams in the league in terms of sacks. They have 40 quarterback takedowns on the season, tied for fourth-most in the NFL. That doesn’t sound good for Matt Ryan, who’s been sacked 33 times this season. It wasn’t that long ago when he got sacked eight times by the New Orleans Saints in a loss. In Week 11. Since then, Ryan has been sacked six times in three games.
The Bucs are 6-4 against the spread in their last 10 road games.
The Falcons lost their second game in a row after getting victimized by the LA Chargers on the road in Week 14, 20-17. Matt Ryan would rather erase the memory of that game in which he was intercepted three times and passed for just 224 yards and a touchdown on 21-of-32 completions. Although wide receiver Julio Jones didn’t play, that was a disappointing performance for Ryan, and he will look to rebound against Tampa Bay’s tough defense. If Jones (hamstring) could make his way back into action in Week 15, that’s going to be a big plus for Atlanta, which is averaging 25.2 points per game. The Falcons are also sixth overall with 268.9 passing yards per game. If Jones can’t go, Ryan will still have Russell Gage, who’s been heating up of late. Gage had 82 receiving yards on five receptions and seven targets against the Chargers. Ryan also has another scary weapon in Calvin Ridley, who leads the Falcons this season with 1,029 receiving yards and eight touchdowns.
The under is 4-1 in the Falcons’ last five home games.
