Tag: Bucs vs. Falcons

Bucs Wire staff picks for Week 14 against the Falcons

Here’s how we see Sunday’s big NFC South game going for Tampa Bay:

Make or break, do or die, call it what you will — the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are playing the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday for Week 14’s action, and it’ll determine whether or not the Bucs control their own destiny for a potential playoff bid or will be almost certainly eliminated from postseason contention altogether.

The Falcons beat the Bucs last time around 16-13, and they sit one game ahead of Tampa Bay. Should the Bucs win, they’ll lead the NFC South on common opponents with invigorated life for a playoff bid. Should they lose, however, they’ll be two games back from Atlanta with little hope of recovery.

We here at Bucs Wire give our predictions for each Bucs game every week, and this is how we see Sunday’s matchup going:

Bucs reveal uniform combo for Week 14

The Bucs are going with the same uniform they wore the last time they played the Falcons.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are nothing if not consistent when it comes to uniforms.

The team announced Wednesday that it’s going with its white-on-white uniforms on Sunday in Week 14 against the Atlanta Falcons. The Bucs wore that same uniform against Atlanta when the Falcons came to Tampa, where they lost 16-13 — they’ll hope it goes differently this time around.

The Bucs are 2-2 when wearing white-over-white this year, and once the Bucs take the field with these uniforms, they’ll have worn them five times. That’ll tie the combo for the most-worn combo this year, which is held at the moment by the team’s white-over-pewter combination. The Bucs have only worn four different uniforms in 2023, as they’ve also used a red-over-white combo once and their all-pewter uniforms once as well.

Bucs open as 2.5-point underdogs vs. Falcons

The Bucs are underdogs heading into a crucial game against the leaders of the NFC South.

Just like last time around, perhaps the most important game of Tampa Bay’s season will come against the Atlanta Falcons.

The Bucs and the Falcons square off on Dec. 10 in what could be a deciding matchup in the NFC South, as the 5-7 Bucs are coming off a win and are just one game back from the 6-6 Atlanta Falcons. The matchup will be played in Atlanta, and should the Bucs win, they’ll take share of first place in the NFC South — should the Bucs lose, though, their playoff chances will grow dire.

The Falcons are favored in the game by 2.5 points, per BetMGM. The over/under is currently set at 39 points and the Falcons are favored on the moneyline at -135.

The last time the two teams played, the Falcons defeated the Bucs in a grueling game that ended 16-13 in favor of Atlanta after kicker Younghoe Koo hit the walk-off kick to win. Tampa Bay will look to avoid that this time around,

The top offensive players in Tampa Bay’s loss to Atlanta, per PFF

There wasn’t a lot of offense against the Falcons in Week 8, but nonetheless, Pro Football Focus had these players as their top performers:

There wasn’t exactly a wealth of offensive production when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers played the Atlanta Falcons in Week 7.

The Bucs scored just 13 points on the day, putting in a poor offensive performance for the second week in a row. Tampa Bay’s offense particularly struggled in the red zone, failing to punch it in twice when in scoring range. There wasn’t a lot to like when it came to the offense, and Pro Football Focus’ grades for the team certainly reflected that. Despite that, there were some players who put in a strong performance in the eyes of the graders.

Here are the top 10 offensive players from the Bucs’ Week 8 divisional matchup, according to PFF:

GALLERY: Shots from Tampa Bay’s Week 7 loss to Atlanta

It wasn’t a pretty score, but from Rachaad White hurdles to daring Antoine Winfield Jr. pass breakups, there were a few cool shots from Sunday’s game:

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers fell to 3-3 on Sunday after a brutal loss to the Atlanta Falcons 16-13, but from a picturesque standpoint, there was a lot of cool stuff to look at.

From a Mike Evans deep ball, a leaping pass breakup and a Rachaad White hurdle, there was certainly a lot of action in Raymond James Stadium (even if it didn’t translate to points). Here are some of our favorite shots from the game:

Studs and Duds from Tampa Bay’s 16-13 loss to the Falcons

It was another rough home loss for the Bucs, and as always, some players contributed far more than others.

Another week, another rough home loss for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

This one was arguably more important, though, as it dropped the Bucs down a spot in the NFC South standings and now sit at 3-3. It was a rough game by both sides of the ball, with the Bucs unable to capitalize on opportunities and the Falcons able to work around a normally-stout defense with a largely one-dimensional offense. The Bucs don’t get a breather, either, as they have to fly to Orchard Park, New York, to take on the Buffalo Bills Thursday night.

As always, some players were better than others — here are our studs and duds from Sunday’s loss:

Social media reacts to Tampa Bay’s 16-13 loss to the Falcons

Social media was understandably fired up after an ugly loss from the Bucs.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had a chance to take a big lead over the NFC South, but the team missed that chance big time on Sunday.

The Bucs fell to the Atlanta Falcons 16-13 on Sunday, falling to 3-3 and sitting one game back of the lead in the division. It was a game filled with sloppy penalties, offensive miscues and big splash plays given up by the defense, and it was definitively one of Tampa Bay’s worst games of the year. Naturally, because of that, social media had plenty of things to say about the loss and ensuing fallout.

Here are a few posts from Bucs fans, pundits and neutral observers:

WATCH: Antoine Winfield Jr. forces a fumble on Desmond Ridder

Antoine Winfield continues a brilliant year.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety [autotag]Antoine Winfield Jr.[/autotag] is never afraid of the moment.

The Atlanta Falcons were up 13-10 late in the fourth quarter and had the chance to seal it with a score. Falcons quarterback Desmond Ridder had what looked to be the game-winning touchdown on a 12-yard scramble, but Winfield managed to peanut punch the ball out of his hands right before he crossed the plane. As the ball was a fumble and went out of the end zone, the play counted as a touchback and the Bucs were able to get the ball back.

Check out the play below:

WATCH: Bucs force a fumble on QB Desmond Ridder to close the half

The Bucs defense delivered when the Falcons were looking to score points to end the first half.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers didn’t get a turnover against the Lions in Week 6, but the defense managed to rectify that in Week 7.

The Falcons were set to score points at the end of the half while in field goal range, but with 17 seconds left, the Bucs defense delivered. Tampa Bay outside linebacker Shaquil Barrett and defensive tackle Calijah Kancey pincered in on Falcons quarterback Desmond Ridder as he dropped back to pass, and they forced a fumble on him that was recovered by Jamel Dean. The Bucs elected to leave the half with all three timeouts, but the move prevented the Falcons from scoring and kept the game tied.

Check out the play below:

WATCH: Mike Evans catches a deep ball from Baker Mayfield for the score

Baker Mayfield found his deep ball when he hit Mike Evans for the 40-yard score:

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers fell down 7-0 to the Atlanta Falcons, but they were quick to respond.

Quarterback Baker Mayfield found wideout Mike Evans for a 40-yard deep ball score. Evans matched up against A.J. Terrell, and he was able to box him out and get some acceleration to get out ahead of him and catch the deep ball for the touchdown. Mayfield’s been recently criticized for his lack of deep ball accuracy, but he put this one right on the money for Evans and it allowed the Bucs to tie up the game 7-7.

Here is the play from the Bucs that led to the score: