The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have one more home game before embarking on a string of five road contests in a seven-game span, and it's a big one. First place in the NFC South will be on the line when the 4-3 Atlanta Falcons visit Raymond James Stadium to take on the 4-3 Buccaneers. The all-time lead in the series will also be up for grabs, and the home team has a little bit of extra motivation to settle the season score after letting a 36-30 overtime game slip away from them in Atlanta three weeks earlier.

"Every game's important," said quarterback Baker Mayfield, who leads the NFL with 18 touchdown passes. "Obviously you have a little bit more emphasis on the divisional games. And just where we're at right now – tied for the division, this one's for the outright lead for the division and we definitely need it for head-to-head stuff. We need this one. Next-game mentality, but this one just happens to be a divisional opponent at home."

The storyline that has dominated the week for the Buccaneers has been an unwelcome one, as both of their star receivers, Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, were knocked out of their Monday night loss to Baltimore with significant injuries. Evans, who has a hamstring ailment, is hoping to make his return after the Bucs' Week 11 bye, but Godwin was put on season-ending injured reserve on Wednesday. Of those aforementioned 18 touchdown passes thrown by Mayfield, 11 have ended up in the hands of these two receivers.

So the Buccaneers will be looking for increased production from the likes of rookie Jalen McMillan, second-year man Trey Palmer and veteran Sterling Shepard. Liam Coen will be altering his game plans to play more to the strengths of those less-proven players, but the Bucs are confident they can find a way to keep the NFL's seventh-ranked passing attack in high gear. Head Coach Todd Bowles is excited about working with the young players, drawing encouragement from something he learned from legendary coach Bill Parcells in New York and Dallas.

"Gotta find a way to win," said Bowles. "That's part of it. You never know what you can do until you find out what you don't have. Coach Parcells always said that. Coaches have to do more, players have to do more and you've got to be more creative. We're putting our heads down to work and we'll get it done.

"It will be great because we've got to tweak our offense now to what they bring to the table, as opposed to what Mike and Chris bring to the table. So it will be a challenge for the coaches as well as the players, but I'm excited to see them play. I think they have more to them that meets the eye that we haven't seen yet, so I'm excited to see them."

A new type of winning formula for the Buccaneers in the absence of their star receivers could also involve a tightening of the screws on defense. Tampa Bay ranks fourth in the NFL in scoring with 29.9 points per game but 28th in scoring defense, allowing 26.0 points per game. The Bucs have already lost two games in which they scored 30 or more points.

"It's a team game anyway," said Bowles. "We need more out of the defense week-in and week-out, regardless of who's playing on offense. But with Mike and Chris out, having the offense production that they've had out of the ballgame, and not just relying on those two guys, the defense has to step up and play."

That defense will have to contend with a Falcons offense led by quarterback Kirk Cousins, who topped 500 passing yards in that Week Five shootout. The Falcons lost in Week Seven to the visiting Seattle Seahawks but Cousins still made good use of his trio of top-10 draft picks at the skill positions. Running back Bijan Robinson had 143 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown, wide receiver Drake London caught six passes for 63 yards and a score and tight end Kyle Pitts hauled in seven passes for 65 yards. The Falcons only scored 14 points and lost by 20, but they clearly have the makings of a very dangerous offense.

First place is the prize for whichever team can come out on top on Sunday at Raymond James Stadium. And the NFC South title at the end of the season could also pivot on this Week Eight outcome.

GAME AND BROADCAST DETAILS

Atlanta Falcons (4-3) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-3)

Sunday, October 27, 1:00 p.m. ET

Raymond James Stadium (capacity: 65,844)

Tampa, Florida

Television: FOX

TV Broadcast Team: Adam Amin (play-by-play), Greg Olsen (analyst), Pam Oliver (reporter)

Radio: 98Rock (WXTB, 97.9 FM), Flagship Station

Radio Broadcast Team: Gene Deckerhoff (play-by-play), Dave Moore (analyst), T.J. Rives (reporter)

Spanish Radio: 96.1 Caliente

Spanish Radio Broadcast Team: Carlos Bohorquez (play-by-play), Martin Gramática (analyst)

GAMEDAY INFORMATION

Coming to the game or enjoying pregame festivities? Check out our Buccaneers Gameday Page for everything you need to know about getting ready for the game, Tailgate Packages, Bucs Beach and more!

TICKETING INFORMATION

The 2024 season is underway and there are a limited number of Single Game Tickets on sale now! Visit Buccaneers.com to purchase tickets.

ALL-TIME HEAD-TO-HEAD SERIES

The lead in the all-time series between the Buccaneers and Falcons is once again up for grabs, as it has been so many times in the team's 48-year shared history. Atlanta tied it up again in Week Five with a 36-30 overtime win in Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The game was tied four different times, the last when Kirk Cousins was able to spike the ball with one second left in regulation to set up Younghoe Koo's 52-yard field goal. Atlanta got the ball first in overtime and won on a 45-yard catch-and-run by KhaDarel Hodge. Cousins threw for 509 yards and four touchdowns.

With that, the Buccaneers and Falcons have now played each other 62 times since 1977, with each team snaring 31 victories. Last season, Atlanta initially tied it up at 30-30 with a 16-13, at Raymond James Stadium, but the Bucs took the lead back later in the season with a 29-25 victory in Atlanta. The first of those games was also tied three times, at 7-7, 10-10 and 13-13, before Koo won it at the buzzer with a 51-yard field goal. Mike Evans scored the Bucs' only touchdown on a 40-yard catch, and safety Antoine Winfield Jr. kept his team alive in the fourth quarter with a remarkable forced fumble at the goal line against quarterback Desmond Ridder. In the rematch, Ridder put the Falcons ahead, 25-22, with three minutes left on a six-yard touchdown keeper but Baker Mayfield was able to counter that with a 12-play, 75-yard drive ending in his 11-yard touchdown pass to Cade Otton.

Overall, the Bucs-Falcons head-to-head record has rarely strayed too far from dead even. In fact, when the Buccaneers defeated the Falcons in Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Week 13 of the 2021 campaign, completing a season sweep, it caused the series lead to change hands for the eighth time overall. The Buccaneers upped their lead to two games with a 21-15 win over Atlanta in Tampa in October of 2022 but the Falcons brought it back down to one, 30-29, by earning the split with a 30-17 decision in the regular-season finale. Overall, the Buccaneers have won six of the last eight meetings in the series.

Since the Bucs and Falcons became fellow NFC South denizens in 2002, the two teams are tied at 22-21. The Bucs' longest winning streak in the series is six, between 1997 and 2003; the Falcons have won five in a row on two occasions, first from 2008-10 and again from 2016-18.

The Falcons won the 2022 regular-season finale, a contest in which the Buccaneers, having already been locked into the fourth seed in the NFC playoff field, rested many of their starters and pulled most of the rest early in the contest. Ridder, in just his fourth career start, threw for 224 yards and two touchdowns and Atlanta's defense held the Bucs to 222 total yards of offense.

Earlier in the 2022 season, the Buccaneers held on to a 21-15 victory despite a late Atlanta comeback. Tampa Bay controlled the action for three quarters and used two Leonard Fournette touchdowns to take a 21-0 lead into the final period before Atlanta stormed back with two touchdowns. After an Olamide Zaccheaus touchdown catch made it a one-score game, the Bucs' offense was able to drain the final 4:38 from the clock with one long drive.

The Bucs' two wins in 2021 were both by double-digit margins. In Week at Raymond James Stadium, the Buccaneers got five touchdown passes from Tom Brady, including two each to Mike Evans and Rob Gronkowski – plus Mike Edwards' two fourth-quarter pick-sixes as an exclamation in a 48-25 victory. In the rematch in in Atlanta, Chris Godwin set a team single-game record with 15 catches and Gronkowski once again found the end zone twice in Tampa Bay's 13-point win. Russell Gage, who is now a Buccaneer, caught 11 passes for 130 yards for the Falcons.

Prior to briefly retaking the series lead in 2021, the Buccaneers had been on top with a 24-22 advantage midway through the 2016 season before Atlanta reeled off five straight victories in a streak that included sweeps in 2017 and 2018. Tampa Bay has the all-time edge in scoring in the series, with 1,374 points to the Falcons' 1,302.

In their run to the Super Bowl championship in 2020, the Buccaneers won eight straight spanning the regular season and the postseason, and they downed the Falcons twice in the final three weeks of the regular season, scoring a total of 75 points. Tampa Bay won, 31-27, at Atlanta in Week 15 and then took the rematch in Tampa by a 44-27 margin. The first win required a wild comeback after the Falcons raced out to a 17-0 halftime lead, with Tom Brady throwing for 330 yards and two touchdowns in the second half. The second game at Raymond James Stadium was less stressful, as the Buccaneers led from wire to wire, but included another huge day by Brady, who threw for 399 yards and four touchdowns.

The Buccaneers came close to taking both halves of the series in 2019, winning by a 35-22 score in Atlanta and taking a 22-16 lead into the fourth quarter in the Week 17 rematch in Tampa. However, Matt Ryan led a game-tying drive in the final three minutes of that contest, leading to Younghoe Koo's 33-yard field goal as time expired in regulation. The Buccaneers won the overtime coin toss but lost the game on the first play of the extra period, as Jameis Winston's last pass for Tampa Bay was picked off and returned 27 yards for a touchdown by Deion Jones.

Both of the games in 2018 went down to the wire, neither ending well for the Buccaneers. In Week Six in Atlanta, Tampa Bay rallied from a 15-point deficit to make it a 31-29 game with four minutes to play on Peyton Barber's five-yard touchdown catch. The Falcons then tacked on a field goal to make it a five-point game with just over a minute to play but Winston got the visitors back into scoring range with consecutive completions of 18, 18 and 19 yards to DeSean Jackson, Mike Evans and Adam Humphries. With seven seconds left and the ball at Atlanta's 21, the Bucs tried a tricky play in which Winston began to scramble up the middle and then suddenly attempted a lateral to Humphries. The ball ended up on the turf before Evans scooped it up and got a one-hopper off to Jackson, who appeared to have a path to the end zone pylon along the left sideline. However, Jackson couldn't haul it in and time expired on a 34-29 Falcons victory.

In the Week 17 rematch, at Raymond James Stadium, the Bucs gave up a 10-point halftime lead and fell behind by 11 in the fourth quarter before once again rallying, this time taking the lead with five minutes to play on a 19-yard Chris Godwin touchdown catch. That was too much time to leave Ryan, however, and he hit Jones on a pair of 16-yard passes to get the ball into field goal range. Matt Bryant won it as time expired with a 37-yarder.

NOTABLE CONNECTIONS

• Rich McKay, who is the chief executive officer of AMBSE and the Atlanta Falcons, is the son of John McKay, the first head coach in Buccaneers franchise history. Rich McKay also had a long stint as a Buccaneers executive, starting out as the vice president of football administration before taking on the title of General Manager in 1994. He maintained that position through much of the 2003 season before leaving for the Falcons.
• Atlanta Head Coach Raheem Morris began his NFL coaching career with the Buccaneers in 2002. Excluding the 2006 season, in which he was the defensive coordinator at Kansas, Morris spent nine seasons with the Buccaneers, progressing from a defensive quality control coach to defensive assistant to assistant defensive backs coach to defensive backs coach, all on Jon Gruden's staff. At the end of the 2008 season, he was briefly tabbed to take over at defensive coordinator for the departing Monte Kiffin, but the team suddenly went in a different direction, letting Gruden go and promoting Morris to head coach. Morris held that position for three seasons (2009-11) as the Buccaneers compiled a 17-31 record.
• Morris is in his first year at the Falcons' helm, and he brought Jimmy Lake with him from his pervious stop with the Rams to serve as his defensive coordinator. Lake had two separate stints on the Bucs' coaching staff, first as an assistant defensive backs coach on Gruden's staff (2006-07) and then as the defensive backs coach under Morris (2010-11).
• Falcons Pass Game Specialist/Game Management Coach Tim Berbenich, was on Tampa Bay's coaching staff from 2006-11, starting out as an offensive quality control coach for two seasons before moving over to assistant running backs coach in 2008. Morris retained him on his staff when he took over the next season and Berbenich spent three years as an assistant wide receivers coach.
• Ike Hilliard, the Falcons' wide receivers coach, played the last four years of his 12 as an NFL receiver in Tampa, from 2005-08. In those four seasons he recorded 178 receptions for 1,767 yards and eight touchdowns.
• Atlanta Inside Linebackers Coach Barrett Ruud was a second-round draft pick by the Buccaneers out of Nebraska in 2005. He played the first six of his eight seasons in the NFL in Tampa, starting 68 of the 95 games in which he appeared and amassing 657 tackles, 6.0 sacks, 22 tackles for loss, seven interceptions and seven, seven forced fumbles and five fumble recoveries.
• Another member of Morris's Falcons staff, Outside Linebackers Coach Jacquies Smith played three seasons and one game of a fourth for the Buccaneers from 2014-17. He recorded 13.5 sacks in that span.
• Punter Bradley Pinion is in his third season in Atlanta after playing the previous three in a Buccaneers uniform. Pinion played in 47 games for the Buccaneers, posting a gross punting average of 43.6 yards and also serving as one of the NFL's best kickoff specialists.
• Buccaneers Cornerbacks Coach Kevin Ross spent a small portion of his long NFL playing career in Atlanta, joining the Falcons in 1994 after 11 years with the Kansas City Chiefs. Ross played two seasons in Atlanta before finishing his playing career with one year in San Diego and one more back with the Chiefs.
• Keith Tandy, who joined the Buccaneers' coaching staff in 2021 as a defensive/special teams assistant, wrapped up his NFL playing career with one season (2018) in Atlanta after six years on the field for Tampa Bay.
• Falcons Assistant Head Coach/Defense Jerry Gray played nine seasons in the NFL before beginning his coaching career. His final season as a player was with the Buccaneers in 1993.
• Defensive lineman Demone Harris, who is on the Falcons' practice squad, first entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Buccaneers in 2018. He played in three total games for Tampa Bay in 2018 and 2019.

SENIOR COACHING STAFFS

Tampa Bay:

• Head Coach Todd Bowles

• Offensive Coordinator Liam Coen
• Run Game Coordinator/Defensive Line Coach Kacy Rodgers
• Pass Game Coordinator/Inside Linebackers Coach Larry Foote
• Special Teams Coordinator Thomas McGaughey

Atlanta:

• Head Coach Raheem Morris

• Offensive Coordinator Zac Robinson
• Defensive Coordinator Jimmy Lake
• Special Teams Coordinator Marquice Williams

KEY 2024 ROSTER ADDITIONS

Buccaneers:

• C Graham Barton (1st-round draft pick)
• OLB Chris Braswell (2nd-round draft pick)
• G Ben Bredeson (UFA)
• TE Devin Culp (7th-round draft pick)
• P Trenton Gill (FA)
• CB Bryce Hall (UFA)
• RB Bucky Irving (4th-round draft pick)
• WR Kameron Johnson (UDFA)
• G Elijah Klein (6th-round draft pick)
• WR Jalen McMillan (3rd-round draft pick)
• G Royce Newman (W-GB)
• S Tykee Smith (3rd-round draft pick)
• CB Tavierre Thomas (UFA)
• S Jordan Whitehead (UFA)

Falcons:

• LB JD Bertrand (5th-round draft pick)
• QB Kirk Cousins (UFA)
• DT Brandon Dorlus (4th-round draft pick)
• TE Ross Dwelley (FA)
• CB Antonio Hamilton (UFA)
• C Matt Hennessy (FA)
• OLB Matthew Judon (T-NE)
• CB Kevin King (FA)
• RB Jase McClellan (sixth-round draft pick)
• WR/KR Ray-Ray McCloud (UFA)
• WR Darnell Mooney (UFA
• WR Rondale Moore (T-AZ…currently on injured reserve)
• DT Ruke Orhorhoro (2nd-round draft pick)
• QB Michael Penix (1st-round draft pick)
• S Justin Simmons (FA)
• DE Bralen Trice (3rd-round draft pick…currently on injured reserve)
• WR Casey Washington (6th-round draft pick)
• TE Charlie Woerner (UFA)

ADDITIONAL 2024 CHANGES/DEVELOPMENTS OF NOTE

Buccaneers:

• As Todd Bowles enters his third season as the Bucs' head coach he'll be working with his third offensive coordinator in as many seasons. Last year, Bowles picked former Seattle Quarterbacks Coach Dave Canales to replace Byron Leftwich, but Canales departed this offseason to take over as the head coach of the Panthers. Bowles then turned to Liam Coen, who comes from the Sean McVay coaching tree with the Rams and most recently was the offensive coordinator at the University of Kentucky. Three members of the Bucs' 2023 staff followed Canales to Carolina – Brad Idzik, Harold Goodwin and Joe Gilbert, which led to some other new additions on Bowles staff in 2024. Those include Offensive Line Coach Kevin Carberry, Pass Game Coordinator Josh Grizzard, Wide Receivers Coach Bryan McClendon and Assistant Offensive Line Coach Brian Picucci. In addition, long-time Special Teams Coordinator Keith Armstrong retired in the offseason, so the Bucs brought in Thomas McGaughey as his replacement.
• Under Coen, the Buccaneers' offense is expected to employ quite a bit more pre-snap shifts and movement than it had in 2023, and Coen also plans to widen the variety of the types of runs the ground game employees. One of Coen's other key initiatives in an attempt to get a moribund rushing attack going is to give quarterback Baker Mayfield multiple plays to choose from in the huddle and at the line so that the offense runs into unfavorable looks less often.
• Despite having tight salary cap restrictions, the Buccaneers made it a priority to retain key players from the 2023 season who were scheduled to hit free agency. General Manager Jason Licht and his staff successfully checked off every item on their list of priorities, beginning with a new two-year deal for franchise icon Mike Evans. That helped bring the team's negotiations with quarterback Baker Mayfield to a conclusion. After Mayfield played the 2023 season on a one-year prove-it deal, his resurgence landed him a lucrative new multi-year contract. The Bucs were also able to re-sign linebacker Lavonte David and kicker Chase McLaughlin. With the other deals in the works, the Bucs used the franchise tag on safety Antoine Winfield Jr. and later inking him to a new contract making him the highest-paid defensive back in the NFL.
• All-Pro tackle Tristan Wirfs didn't need a new contract for 2024 but he was entering the final year of his rookie deal and the Buccaneers were highly motivated to lock him in to a new long-term pact. That lengthy process came to a head on August 1, when the two sides agreed on a five-year extension that runs through the 2029 campaign and makes him the highest paid offensive lineman in the NFL.
• In March, the Buccaneers traded cornerback Carlton Davis, who had started 75 games over six seasons with the team, to the Detroit Lions for a third-round pick in this year's draft. The Buccaneers eventually used that pick to select Washington wide receiver Jalen McMillan.

Falcons:

• Atlanta brought in a new team leader in 2024, turning back to a coach who has ties to both of the teams in Sunday's game. Raheem Morris is getting his second shot as an NFL head coach after he held the same position with the Buccaneers from 2009-11. Morris had most recently been the Rams' defensive coordinator for the 2021-23 seasons, but he spent nine years with the Buccaneers and six with the Falcons, including a stint as the interim head coach in 2020. Morris brought two assistants with him from Los Angeles to serve as his coordinators, with Zac Robinson taking over the offense and Jimmy Lake guiding the defense.
• The Falcons were able to retain a handful of their players who had a shot to leave in free agency this offseason, most notably defensive lineman Kentavius Street, who they had acquired in a trade with Philadelphia last year after Grady Jarrett suffered a season-ending injury. Others who re-signed with the team included wide receiver KhaDarel Hodge, swing tackle Storm Norton and linebacker Nate Landman. However, Landman has since landed on injured reserve with a quad injury.
• The Falcons also lost their third-round draft pick, edge rusher Bralen Trice, to a knee injury suffered in the team's preseason opener. Since Trice was placed on injured reserve prior to the roster cuts to the 53-man regular season roster, he will not be eligible to return to the active roster in 2024. The Falcons responded almost immediately by sending a 2025 third-round pick to the New England Patriots for pass rusher Matthew Judon. Earlier in that same week, during a joint practice with the Dolphins, wide receiver Rondale Moore suffered a knee injury as well, which led to him being placed on injured reserve. The Falcons had traded quarterback Desmond Ridder to the Cardinals during the offseason to acquire Moore.
• Atlanta did lose some notable names in free agency during the offseason, including defensive end Calais Campbell, who signed with the Dolphins after he was not asked to be re-signed by the Falcons. Campbell tied for the team lead in sacks in 2023. Other departures included those of running back/return man Cordarrelle Patterson (Steelers), wide receiver Van Jefferson (Steelers), wide receiver Scotty Miller (Steelers), cornerback Jeff Okudah (Texans), cornerback Tre Flowers (Jaguars), center Matt Hennessey (Eagles), tight end Jonnu Smith (Dolphins) and wide receiver Mack Hollins (Buffalo).

INJURY REPORT

Key:

DNP: Did not participate in practice

LP: Limited participation in practice

FP: Full participation in practice

NL: Not listed

Buccaneers:

• TE Payne Durham (calf) – WEDS: DNP
• WR Mike Evans (hamstring) – WEDS: DNP
• DL Will Gholston (knee) – WEDS: LP
• RB Bucky Irving (toe) – WEDS: DNP
• WR Rakim Jarrett* (knee) – WEDS: FP
• S Tykee Smith (concussion) – WEDS: DNP

* Jarrett is in a 21-day window in which he can be activated from injured reserve.

Falcons:

• LB Troy Andersen (knee) – WEDS: LP
• OL Matthew Bergeron (neck) – WEDS: FP
• CB Antonio Hamilton (back) – WEDS: LP
• OLB Matthew Judon (rest) – WEDS: LP
• LB Nate Landman (shoulder) – WEDS: LP
• OL Ryan Neuzil (knee) – WEDS: DNP
• S Justin Simmons (hamstring) – WEDS: LP

WEATHER FORECAST

Sunny. High of 84, low of 66, 6% chance of rain, 62% humidity, winds out of the N at 6 mph.

GAME REFEREE

Head referee: Shawn Hochuli (11th season, seventh as referee)

BETTING LINE

• Favorite: Falcons (-2.5)
• Over/Under: 46.0

INDIVIDUAL STAT LEADERS IN 2024

Buccaneers-

Points Scored: K Chase McLauglin, 57

Touchdowns: WR Mike Evans, 6

Passing Yards: QB Baker Mayfield, 1,859

Passer Rating: QB Baker Mayfield, 107.1

Rushing Yards: RB Bucky Irving, 351

Receptions: WR Chris Godwin, 50

Receiving Yards: WR Chris Godwin, 576

Interceptions: CB Zyon McCollum, 2

Sacks: LB Lavonte David/DL Logan Hall/DL Vita Vea, 3.0

Tackles: LB Lavonte David, 48

Falcons-

Points Scored: K Younghoe Koo, 59

Touchdowns: WR Drake London, 5

Passing Yards: QB Kirk Cousins, 1,830

Passer Rating: QB Kirk Cousins, 91.1

Rushing Yards: RB Bijan Robinson, 483

Receptions: WR Drake London, 44

Receiving Yards: WR Drake London, 491

Interceptions: LB Troy Andersen/S Jessie Bates/CB Clark Phillips/S Justin Simmons/CB A.J. Terrell, 1

Sacks: DT Grady Jarrett/OLB Matthew Judon, 1.5

Tackles: LB Kaden Elliss, 53

TEAM STAT RANKINGS IN 2024

Buccaneers-

Scoring Offense: 4th (29.9 ppg)

Total Offense: 5th (383.4 ypg)

Rushing Offense: 8th (135.1 ypg)

Passing Offense: 7th (248.3 ypg)

First Downs Per Game: 2nd (23.1)

Third-Down Pct.: 1st (50.6%)

Sacks Per Pass Attempt Allowed: 21st (8.55%)

Red Zone TD Pct.: 9th (64.3%)

Scoring Defense: 28th (26.0 ppg)

Total Defense: 31st (386.0 ypg)

Rushing Defense: 19th (132.0 ypg)

Passing Defense: 29th (254.0 ypg)

First Downs Allowed Per Game: 28th (21.6)

Third-Down Pct. Allowed: 19th (37.2%)

Sacks Per Pass Attempt: 19th (7.12%)

Red Zone TD Pct. Allowed: t-13th (53.3%)

Turnover Margin: t-14th (+1)

Falcons-

Scoring Offense: 15th (23.3 ppg)

Total Offense: 7th (368.4 ypg)

Rushing Offense: 16th (119.6 ypg)

Passing Offense: 6th (248.9 ypg)

First Downs Per Game: 8th (20.7)

Third-Down Pct.: 19th (38.0%)

Sacks Per Pass Attempt Allowed: 6th (5.33%)

Red Zone TD Pct.: t-23rd (50.0)

Scoring Defense: 22nd (24.1 ppg)

Total Defense: 17th (336.1 ypg)

Rushing Defense: 24th (137.0 ypg)

Passing Defense: 14th (199.1 ypg)

First Downs Allowed Per Game: t-24th (21.0)

Third-Down Pct. Allowed: 30th (36.7%)

Sacks Per Pass Attempt: 32nd (2.74%)

Red Zone TD Pct. Allowed: 12th (52.2%)

Turnover Margin: t-21st (-3)

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

• WR Mike Evans has 1,469 receiving yards against the Falcons in his career. If he gets 12 more he will have the most yard by any active player against a single opponent.
• RB Rachaad White caught two touchdown passes on Monday night against Baltimore. If he gets two more, he will push his career total to nine, which would tie Warrick Dunn and James Wilder for the second most receiving touchdowns by a running back in franchise history.
• S Antoine Winfield Jr. recorded his 16th sack on Monday against the Ravens. With one more, he would tie Keith Bostic for the 14th most by a defensive back since the sack became an official statistic in 1982. Two more would tie him for 11th place with Adam Archuleta, Bill Bates and Roman Harper.
• Against Philadelphia in Week Four, LB Lavonte David forced a fumble for the 30th time in his career. He needs one more forced fumble to break a tie with the Chargers' Khalil Mack to lead all active players with 31.

NOTABLY QUOTABLE

• Head Coach Todd Bowles on if the Buccaneers feel it's necessary to acquire a new "big-name" receiver with Mike Evans and Chris Godwin out: "Not really. I mean, if there's something out there that fits us, we'll look at it. But if not, we're comfortable with what we have. We really like our young guys right now. We think Mike's coming back and we really like our young guys. There are guys out there, but for what we would have to give up to get them in the long run is probably not worth it. So for us right now, we're excited to see our young guys play. We had to play without some defensive guys this year, now we have to play without some offensive guys. We fared pretty well and we think we'll fare pretty well with these guys."
• Quarterback Baker Mayfield on the Bucs losing a lead in the second half in their Week Five game at Atlanta: "We just didn't execute as much. We obviously started extremely fast in that first half, really rolling. They switched it up a little bit, what they were doing on defense, making us be a little bit more patient and they were defending the runs a lot better. But in our minds, after watching the film, it still comes down to us executing and doing our jobs each and every play. That's really what it was. We had plenty of chances to seal that game, and we didn't."
• WR Jalen McMillan on Bowles telling him to just 'play like he did in college' on Sunday: "Yeah, on Sunday, I can. You know, at first, I was kind of overthinking things but that's just what comes with transitioning, you have to just adjust. I'm adjusting and just playing my role right and [I'm] just ready to make plays."
• Bowles on TE Cade Otton being a reliable receiver and taking some hard hits last Monday: "I think he made some tougher catches when taking those hits than I've seen him before. He always made the tough catch before with guys hanging on him, but they were really taking some shots there and he had to get his hands up over his head and make some plays. He kept his balance and stayed up afterwards, so that was big for us."
• Mayfield on the difference between being aggressive vs. reckless as a passer: "[I] just try and go through the reads, let the defense dictate where the ball needs to go and when we have things schemed up to win, you have to let it rip. You know, you can't be timid. When you hesitate, mistakes happen – [a] lot more sacks, [if] you hold on to the ball, bad things can happen."