Atlanta @ Tampa Bay preview
Raymond James Stadium
Last Meeting ( Sep 18, 2014 ) Tampa Bay 14, Atlanta 56
Even in the weak NFC South, the Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers are in danger of slipping out of contention. The loser when they square off Sunday in Tampa Bay might as well start looking toward next season. Atlanta has won nine of the last 12 meetings with the Buccaneers, but seven of those 12 have been decided by six points or fewer.
The Falcons routed the Buccaneers 56-14 in a Thursday night clash in Week 3, but they've lost five straight since then. Nonetheless, Atlanta is only two games behind division leader New Orleans and won the first meeting with the Saints this season. The Buccaneers hope to jump-start a sputtering offense by handing the reins back to veteran quarterback Josh McCown, who began the season as the starter but suffered a thumb injury in the loss to Atlanta.
TV: 1 p.m. ET, FOX. LINE: Falcons -2.5. O/U: 46.
ABOUT THE FALCONS (2-6): Matt Ryan picked apart the Bucs' secondary to the tune of an 87.5 percent completion rate and a 155.9 quarterback rating — both franchise records — in the first meeting. The passing game hasn't been the problem, though. Running back Steven Jackson seems to have lost a step and is averaging only 43.1 yards on the ground, and the defense has been atrocious, giving up an NFL-high 408.8 yards per game.
ABOUT THE BUCCANEERS (1-7): Tampa Bay coach Lovie Smith reiterated this week that he views Glennon as the team's quarterback of the future, but the Bucs apparently aren't ready to start looking ahead just yet. They turn back to McCown, who completed 63.2 percent of his passes for 420 yards with two touchdowns and four interceptions in the first three games of the season — all losses. The Bucs rank 31st among 32 teams in total offense and total defense and haven't found many bright spots aside from rookie receiver Mike Evans, who has 32 receptions for 460 yards and four TDs, all team highs.
EXTRA POINTS
1. Atlanta has nine offensive touchdowns of 20 or more yards, tied with Denver for the most in the league.
2. Evans is the first NFL player with at least four receptions in each of the first seven games of his career since Reggie Bush in 2006.
3. The Falcons have scored touchdowns on 13 of 17 red-zone trips, the highest percentage (76.5) among NFC teams and the third-highest in the league.
PREDICTION: Falcons 23, Buccaneers 20