The Tampa Bay Buccaneers picked up a division win over the Carolina Panthers and now get another NFC South test in Week 8, this time against the Atlanta Falcons.
A second straight victory would change the feel of the season in a hurry and put Tampa Bay right back in the mix to win the NFC South. But to get there, the Buccaneers have to handle a handful of matchup problems that could swing the game either way.
Start with the wideout the Falcons trust most. Drake London has become one of the most dangerous pass-catchers in the league, sitting fourth in receiving yards and averaging 88 yards per game.
His 16.2 yards per reception is a career-high and ranks third in the NFL among players with at least 30 catches. London can stress a defense both on the boundary and in the red zone, which means Tampa Bay’s corners - Zyon McCollum and Jacob Parrish - have another big test in front of them.
They’ve played at an All-Pro level so far, and the Buccaneers will need that again if they want to keep London from turning the game into a track meet.
The other side of the ball brings a similar kind of pressure. Tampa Bay’s offense has made its identity clear: run the ball, control the tempo and wear people down.
That formula has worked in both of the Bucs’ wins, when they piled up more than 240 rushing yards in each game. But Atlanta offers a much tougher challenge than the Panthers did last week or the Cowboys did in Week 5.
The Falcons come in ranked fourth in rushing defense, giving up just 88 yards per game. If Tampa Bay can’t move the ball on the ground, the offense could be in for a long afternoon.
That battle starts up front, where the offensive line and tight ends have to set the tone against a physical Atlanta front.
The mirror image of that matchup may decide things just as much. Atlanta leans on the run too, and few teams do it better.
Bijan Robinson is averaging 100 rushing yards per game, while his 5.4 yards per carry ranks fifth among running backs. As a team, the Falcons are putting up 140 rushing yards per game, which ranks sixth in the NFL.
Tampa Bay, though, has been elite against the run under Todd Bowles and is doing it again this season, sitting second in the league and allowing only 77 rushing yards per game. It has all the makings of a power-on-power collision, and if the Buccaneers can slow Atlanta’s ground game, their path to victory gets a lot cleaner.
Then there’s Kyle Pitts, who has already shown what he can do in Tampa. Last year at Raymond James Stadium, he caught 11 passes for 156 yards and three touchdowns in a Falcons win over the Buccaneers.
That kind of night can’t happen again if Tampa Bay wants to come out on top. The Buccaneers are better defensively this season, but this game will show whether they’ve really taken the next step against a Falcons offense that has had success against them in recent meetings.
In Other News...
Buccaneers Pulled Off A Rare Panthers Play Fans Had Never Seen
Special teams rarely become the headline in a divisional game, but Tampa Bay got an unusual lift against Carolina when the kick unit turned pressure into points. A blocked extra point flipped a routine try into a momentum play and helped stretch the Buccaneers advantage in a game that quickly got out of hand on the way to a 43-13 win.
The sequence stood out even more because it was a first in franchise history, with the Bucs cashing in on a blocked extra-point return in a way fans had never seen before. For a team that has leaned on defense and field position in plenty of big moments, it was another reminder that sometimes the smallest play on the scoreboard can have the biggest impact. [Read more 🡒]
Todd Bowles Just Gave Buccaneers Fans A Bigger Coaching Debate
As the NFL heads into Week 8, the pressure meter is starting to climb for several coaches, and the Buccaneers have found their way into the conversation for reasons they would rather avoid. The recent dismissal of Colts general manager Chris Ballard has only added to the sense that front offices are not waiting until the end of the year to make hard calls, and that kind of backdrop always sharpens the focus on Tampa Bays sideline.
Todd Bowles is among the names being discussed in the latest hot-seat chatter, a reflection of how quickly the temperature can rise when results start to slip. For the Buccaneers, the concern is not just about one rough stretch but about whether the organization believes the direction is still pointing the right way, and whether the coming weeks will settle the debate or make it louder. [Read more 🡒]
Bucs Suddenly Face A Trade Deadline Decision Fans Never Wanted
At 2-5, the Buccaneers have reached the kind of crossroads no contender wants to face in October. The passing game has been uneven, some of the rosters core players are getting older, and yet the NFC South is still open enough that a quick turnaround would keep Tampa Bay in the mix, even if the team is still chasing the division leader.
That is what makes the trade deadline conversation so uncomfortable around One Buccaneer Place. The Colts have already shown how far a team can go in rethinking its direction with midseason moves, and the Bucs are now weighing whether they should resist that kind of sell-off or at least consider it if the next stretch goes badly. For a team built to expect more than a rebuilding discussion, even having that debate is its own warning sign. [Read more 🡒]