Baker Mayfield is back under center, and the Buccaneers are hoping his return helps flip the script at Raymond James Stadium on Sunday.
Tampa Bay hosts the Atlanta Falcons in an NFC South matchup set for 1:00 PM EST, with the Bucs still chasing their first home win of the season. Mayfield returned last week from a dislocated thumb and helped spark a 43-13 win over the Carolina Panthers, a game in which Tampa Bay leaned hard on the run and piled up 258 rushing yards.
That ground game is still the heartbeat of what Todd Bowles wants this team to be. The head coach has made it clear that running the ball effectively remains central to the Buccaneers’ identity, and that approach will be tested against an Atlanta defense that just spent a week making life miserable for San Francisco.
The Falcons come in at 3-4 after a 29-20 win over the previously undefeated 49ers, a victory fueled by a defense that forced four takeaways. Atlanta’s unit is built around safeties Jessie Bates and Xavier Watts, with a rotating front that keeps opposing offenses guessing and constantly under stress. Mayfield said the Falcons’ front creates chaos by shooting gaps and mixing pressures, which means ball security and staying ahead of the chains will be front and center for Tampa Bay.
The quarterback matchup brings plenty of production on both sides. Mayfield has thrown for 679 yards for Tampa Bay, while Michael Penix Jr. has passed for 1,157 yards for Atlanta.
On the ground, Bucky Irving leads the Buccaneers with 558 rushing yards, while Bijan Robinson tops the Falcons and the NFL with 704 rushing yards. Through the air, Drake London leads the NFC with 616 receiving yards for Atlanta.
This one also comes with a tight series history. Atlanta holds a 33-32 edge all-time, and the Falcons beat Tampa Bay 29-28 in the last meeting on December 11, 2025.
For the Buccaneers, the challenge is simple: end a four-game home losing streak and keep pace in the division behind a rushing attack that ranks third. For Atlanta, it’s a chance to ride the momentum from its win over San Francisco and grab a road victory against a direct NFC South rival.
The game will be shown on FOX locally, with streaming available through NFL+ in-market on mobile and NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube TV out of market. Radio coverage will be on WXTB 97.9 FM (98ROCK) in Tampa Bay, along with the Buccaneers App and Buccaneers.com.
In Other News...
Buccaneers Have A Real Chance To Seize NFC South Control
A Week 8 swing could leave the Buccaneers in a much different spot in the NFC South race, and the timing matters as much as the result. Tampa Bay has been hovering around the edge of the division picture, but a strong showing against Atlanta would give the Bucs a chance to turn a crowded, uncertain race into something that looks more manageable heading into the next stretch.
The rest of the weekend brings its own pressure points, with Carolina also in the mix and Green Bay standing in the way of the Panthers. Tampa Bay does not need the whole board to break perfectly to feel better about its position, but it does need help elsewhere, and the division could look very different by Sunday night depending on how those results land. [Read more 🡒]
Buccaneers Just Got The NFC South Opening They Needed
The Buccaneers got a little help elsewhere in the NFC South when the Packers knocked off the Panthers, a result that tightened the race just enough to make Tampa Bays next game loom even larger. For a team still trying to climb back into control of its division path, the timing could hardly be better, with Atlanta coming up as the kind of opponent that can either keep the race crowded or open a door.
Tampa Bay now has a chance to turn that outside break into real leverage, and the stakes are obvious even before kickoff. A win would leave the Buccaneers in striking distance of first place and strengthen their position in the division picture, while a loss would leave them scrambling to recover in a race where every result seems to matter twice as much this time of year. [Read more 🡒]
Buccaneers May Have An Offensive Problem Fans Never Expected
In a season where the Buccaneers expected their offense to lean on its usual aerial punch, the early results have pointed in a different direction. Injuries and offensive line issues have helped drag the passing game down, and the unit has struggled to get key receivers involved with any consistency. Instead, Tampa Bay has found more success on the ground, a shift that has changed the feel of the offense and forced a different kind of identity than many around the team might have anticipated.
Todd Bowles and offensive coordinator Zach Robinson have both made it clear the run game is now the priority, with the coaching staff treating it as the foundation for everything else. For a team that has long been defined by what it can do through the air, the challenge now is whether this more deliberate, run-first approach can hold up long enough to keep the offense balanced and dangerous, especially if the passing game continues to lag behind. [Read more 🡒]