The Buccaneers don’t need a reminder that this one matters. Atlanta comes to Tampa Bay in Week 8 with the NFC South race hanging in the balance, and the Falcons have been a problem for the Bucs lately, taking three of the last four meetings over the past two seasons.
If Tampa Bay is going to flip that script, it won’t happen by accident. Several key players have to show up and tilt the game in the Bucs’ favor.
The clearest place to start is Bucky Irving. In Tampa Bay’s two wins this season, the team has run for more than 240 yards, and Irving has topped 100 yards in both of those games.
When the Buccaneers are at their best, they’re pushing the ball on the ground and forcing the issue physically. That matters even more against an Atlanta offense that has controlled this matchup recently, averaging 29 points per game in the last four meetings.
Tampa Bay needs to own the clock and keep that Falcons attack watching from the sideline.
That said, the ground game won’t be handed to them. Atlanta ranks fourth in the NFL against the run, giving up just 89 yards per game, so Baker Mayfield may have to carry more of the load if the rushing attack gets stalled.
He returned last week after missing three games with a dislocated thumb and needed only 7-of-11 passing for 64 yards in the win over Carolina. This week could be a very different assignment.
Mayfield has to work through what Atlanta gives him, find open targets, and above all else avoid turnovers.
Then there’s Kyle Pitts, who has made a habit of turning Tampa Bay games into his own showcase. In the last meeting at Raymond James Stadium, he caught 11 passes for 166 yards and three touchdowns.
In 2024 in Tampa, he added four receptions for 91 yards and two more scores. The Falcons tight end has repeatedly hurt the Bucs, and Todd Bowles’ defense cannot let him take over again.
Whoever draws that assignment - Antoine Winfield Jr., Tykee Smith, Josiah Trotter or (shudders) Alex Anzalone - has to be sharp from the opening snap.
The same goes for the cornerbacks. Zyon McCollum and Jacob Parrish have been one of Tampa Bay’s best answers to opposing wideouts this season, but Drake London is a different kind of challenge.
He enters the week fourth in receiving yards and is averaging 16.2 yards per catch, which makes him exactly the sort of receiver who can turn a single mistake into a huge play. Since the Bucs don’t often shadow one receiver with one corner, both McCollum and Parrish should see plenty of London, and both will need the kind of coverage they’ve been playing all season if Tampa Bay wants to slow Atlanta through the air.
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 🡒]