Game Preview: The Atlanta Falcons and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Meet Again
If this story feels familiar, that's because not too much has changed in the past two weeks since the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last faced the Atlanta Falcons.
One key difference, of course, is that Sunday's game is in Tampa Bay, where actually the Bucs have struggled this season. When playing at Raymond James Stadium, Tampa Bay is only 4-3, compared to the team's road record of 6-2. While winning on the road during the regular seasons bodes well for a team whose path to the Super Bowl will be mostly away games, there is still a lot to play for at home Sunday.
With a win, the Bucs can secure the 5th seed in the NFC playoffs and travel to face the winner of the NFC East, which will be a team with a losing record. Before preparing for the wildcard, Tampa Bay must first battle with the Falcons.
In the Week 15 matchup, Atlanta jumped out to a fast start, but the Bucs overcame a 17-point deficit in route to a 31-27 win over the Falcons. It was a tale of two halves as Atlanta limited Tampa Bay to just 60 total yards of offense in the first half. The second half was a different story as the Bucs scored 21 points in the third quarter alone.
Quarterback Tom Brady led yet another incredible comeback against the Falcons and finished with 390 passing yards while tossing two touchdowns. Matt Ryan threw three touchdowns on his way to 356 yards through the air in that game. On the ground, Leonard Fournette carried the ball 14 times for 49 yards and added two scores himself.
Since then, Tampa Bay has clinched a spot in the playoffs steamrolling the Detroit Lions 47-7. Brady didn't even see the field in the second half after throwing four touchdown passes in the first half.
As for Atlanta, the team suffered yet another close loss, 17-14 to the Kansas City Chiefs last week. Kicker Younghoe Koo missed a 39-yard field goal that would have tied the game at 17 with nine seconds remaining.
Instead, Patrick Mahomes' 25-yard touchdown pass to Demarcus Robinson with 1:55 left in the game, ended up being enough for the Chiefs to escape with a three-point win securing the No. 1 seed in the AFC. The Falcons have now lost four straight games by five points or less.
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Meanwhile, the Bucs have won three in a row and should have running back Ronald Jones back this week after activating him from the reserve/COVID-19 list. Jones has missed the past two games and didn't play against Atlanta.
With a start on Sunday, Brady will surpass Brett Favre (298) for the most starts in NFL history. His number one target, Mike Evans, needs just 40 receiving yards to become the first player in NFL history to record 1,000 or more receiving yards in their first seven NFL seasons, surpassing Randy Moss (6).
If Brady plays long enough on Sunday and throws two more touchdowns, he could set a new franchise record for consecutive games with multiple passing touchdowns at seven.
In the likely scenario that the Bucs score 11 points, Tampa Bay will set a new single-season franchise record for points scored, surpassing the record set last season (458).
For Atlanta, Ryan recorded his 10th career 4,000-yard season. Ryan tends to have a solid day when facing the Bucs as he's thrown for 300 or more yards in three of the past four meetings at Tampa Bay.
Sunday could be star wide receiver Julio Jones' last game with the Falcons as he's been "discussed" as a potential trade piece this offseason, according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler. Jones has 114 receptions for 1,841 yards and 11 touchdowns in his 16 career games vs. the Bucs.
While the Falcons have a solid passing offense which ranks 5th best in the NFL, just one spot below the Bucs, it's on defense where Atlanta has come up short this season. Atlanta's defense sits 28th in the league allowing an average of nearly 400 yards per game to opposing offenses this year.
Kickoff between Atlanta and Tampa Bay is set for Sunday, 1 p.m. ET on FOX.
