With two weeks left in the 2024 regular season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Atlanta Falcons had identical 8-7 records but the Falcons had the upper hand in the division title race thanks to a head-to-head sweep of their Florida rivals earlier in the season. Fortunately for the Buccaneers, they won their last two games while Atlanta lost a pair of overtime contests and the NFC South crown stayed in Tampa for a fourth straight year.

As the team with control of its own destiny in that race switched back and forth multiple times, it became quite clear how important those previous meetings in Weeks Five and Eight were. Atlanta rallied in the first one on a Thursday night at Mercedes-Benz Stadium to tie it in regulation and take a 36-30 decision in overtime. Three weeks later, the Falcons came to Raymond James Stadium and held off a later Buccaneer rally to prevail, 31-26.

This season, the Bucs and Falcons are getting that rivalry heated up even earlier, as they are slated to open their 2025 seasons together this Sunday in Atlanta. The early-season divisional showdown won't decide either team's fate, but the winner will certainly get an early boost in its long playoff quest.

"It's one ballgame," said Head Coach Todd Bowles. "[A win would] give us a leg up in the division; it's not going to win the Super Bowl, which is what we want to get to. It's great to get off to a good start, and that's all it brings to us."

The Bucs-Falcons series has historically been a close one, with the all-time lead changing hands nine times, most recently as Atlanta's sweep put them on top, 32-31. The last four games have been decided by an average margin of 4.5 points. Both games last year were best described as shootouts, but the Bucs had difficulty getting Atlanta's offense off the field. They will look for better results in that regard on Sunday but both teams have changed since last year and there may not be many lessons to glean from what transpired last October.

"Obviously, Atlanta got us twice but nothing carries over, whether it was their wins against them or how good we were on offense," said quarterback Baker Mayfield. "None of that matters. It's a clean slate for everybody so we're looking forward to opening up on the road with a divisional opponent. That's really all that matters, is how we find a way to win."

Atlanta notably passed for 742 yards in those two wins combined last year, but that was with Kirk Cousins under center. Late last season, the Falcons turned over the offensive keys to Michael Penix, the eighth-overall pick in the 2024 draft, and were encouraged by how he played in three starts to finish the season. Penix is surrounded by a lot of offensive talent – including fellow top-10 picks Bijan Robinson, Drake London and Kyle Pitts – and the Bucs know that the young passer poses a serious threat. However, they are hoping their defense jells quickly in 2025 and is able to give the second-year player a tough challenge of his own.

"He can play. We know he can play," said Bowles. "I'm just excited to see how the defense comes together. The first game brings a lot of the unknown, for us as well as them. We've just got to play together, they've got to talk to each other, they have to have mental toughness. We're going into a hostile environment; it's a great place to play. It's a great place to open a season of football. We're just excited to play. … Just making sure we're ready first. We've got to make sure we're prepared to play and not worry so much about what they do as opposed to what we do. They've got a lot of talent, and that's going to be the same every week. We understand that. We feel like we've got a lot of talent as well. We've got to prepare the right way and we've got to go in with the right mindset. We've just got to play a solid game and not make mental mistakes."

Atlanta had the NFL's sixth-ranked offense in 2024 but finished 23rd in defense and, as has been the case for several years in a row, had extreme difficulty pressuring opponent quarterbacks. Atlanta ranked 31st in sacks-per-pass play rate and had the second-fewest sacks overall, with 31. In response, the team signed edge rusher Leonard Floyd in free agency and doubled down on the position in the first round of the 2025 draft with Jalon Walker and James Pearce.

"They've obviously had a lot of personnel changes," said Mayfield. "I haven't seen a lot of tape on Leonard Floyd with them, but we know who he is, great player. Obviously, they spent some early picks on edge rushers as well, and just some changes in the secondary. A.J. Terrell's a great player, still there. Jessie Bates: ball hawk, game changer-guy. Divine Deablo, a new guy in the interior linebacker for them. Some younger DBs that are going to play. Just personnel-wise, trying to figure out who's going to be where without really being able to get non-preseason tape up there to prepare with."

The Buccaneers and Falcons know each other well, and they've become well acquainted with late-season races to the top of the NFC South. However, there's a lot that the 2025 Buccaneers have yet to find out about the 2025 Falcons, and vice versa. That process begins on Sunday.

GAME AND BROADCAST DETAILS

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-0) at Atlanta Falcons (0-0)

Sunday, September 7, 1:00 p.m. ET

Mercedes-Benz Stadium (capacity: 72,000)

Atlanta, Georgia

Television: FOX

TV Broadcast Team: Kenny Albert (play-by-play), Jonathan Vilma (analyst), Megan Olivi (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), Santiago Gramática (reporter)

ALL-TIME HEAD-TO-HEAD SERIES

When Atlanta swept the two-game set with the Buccaneers last season, it marked the ninth team that the lead in the all-time series between the two teams changed hands. Atlanta is now just ahead, with a 32-31 edge after 63 previous meetings. Last year, the Falcons first tied the series up 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. Just three weeks later, the two teams met again in Tampa and this one also came down to the wire. After Baker Mayfield hit Cade Otton on a four-yard touchdown pass with seven minutes to play, the home team still trailed, 31-26. Atlanta was able to burn six minutes off the clock with their final possession and the Bucs could advance only to the Atlanta 33 before one last crack at the end zone was incomplete.

In 2023, the Falcons initially tied the series up at 30-30 with a 16-13 win 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 Mayfield was able to counter that with a 12-play, 75-yard drive ending in his 11-yard touchdown pass to Otton. Overall, the Buccaneers have won six of the last 10 meetings in the series but Atlanta has won three of the last four.

Since the Bucs and Falcons became fellow NFC South denizens in 2002, the two teams are tied at 22-22. 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 1,459 points to the Falcons' 1,354.

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 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 State, 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.
• Buccaneers linebacker Deion Jones was a second-round draft pick by the Falcons in 2016 and he played the first six seasons of his career in Atlanta, earning a Pro Bowl invitation in 2017. In 85 career games for the Falcons, Jones amassed 732 tackles, 13 interceptions (five returned for touchdowns), 53 passes defensed, five forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and 12.0 sacks.
• 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 heading into 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.

SENIOR COACHING STAFFS

Tampa Bay:

• Head Coach Todd Bowles
• Offensive Coordinator Josh Grizzard
• Run Game Coordinator/Defensive Line Coach Kacy Rodgers
• Pass Game Coordinator/Outside Linebackers Coach Larry Foote
• Special Teams Coordinator Thomas McGaughey

Atlanta:

• Head Coach Raheem Morris
• Offensive Coordinator Zac Robinson
• Defensive Coordinator Jeff Ulbrich
• Special Teams Coordinator Marquice Williams

KEY 2025 ROSTER ADDITIONS

Buccaneers:

• LB John Bullock (UDFA)
• T Benjamin Chukwuma (UDFA)
• P Riley Dixon (UFA)
• WR Emeka Egbuka (1st-round draft pick)
• T Charlie Heck (UFA)
• WR Tez Johnson (7th-round draft pick)
• CB Kindle Vildor (UFA)
• CB Benjamin Morrison (2nd-round draft pick)
• CB Jacob Parrish (3rd-round draft pick)
• OLB Haason Reddick (FA)
• DL Elijah Roberts (5th-round draft pick)
• QB Teddy Bridgewater (FA)
• OLB David Walker (4th-round draft pick…on injured reserve)
• RB Josh Williams (UDFA)

Falcons:

• WR/KR Jamal Agnew (FA)
• S Billy Bowman (4th-round draft pick)
• RB Nathan Carter (UDFA)
• LB Divine Deablo (UFA)
• OLB Leonard Floyd (FA)
• CB Mike Ford (UFA)
• TE Feleipe Franks (UFA)
• S Jordan Fuller (FA)
• T Michael Jerrell (T-SEA)
• T Jack Nelson (7th-round draft pick)
• OLB James Pearce (1st-round draft pick)
• TE Teagan Quitariano (FA)
• WR David Sills (FA)
• OLB Jalon Walker (1st-round draft pick)
• S Xavier Watts (3rd-round draft pick)

ADDITIONAL 2025 CHANGES/DEVELOPMENTS OF NOTE

Buccaneers:

• The Buccaneers roll into 2025 with their fourth offensive coordinator in the last four years. This year's transition, however, is a bit different than the last two. In 2023 and 2024, Dave Canales and Liam Coen, respectively, came to town with entirely new offensive systems that the players had to absorb. In 2025, the Buccaneers followed the departure of Coen to be the Jacksonville Jaguars' head coach by promoting former Pass Game Coordinator Josh Grizzard from within. Grizzard will certainly evolve the Bucs' offense in new ways and have his own spin on play-calling, but the basic system remains the same, offering a very helpful continuity for a team that is also returning all of its offensive regulars from a unit that finished in the top five in 2024 in net yards, points scored, rushing yards and passing yards. After Grizzard's promotion, the Buccaneers also hired one of his former colleagues, Kefense Hynson, to be the team's new pass game coordinator.
• To celebrate their landmark 50th season, the Buccaneers are unveiling a new sort of throwback uniform in 2025. In addition to the popular "Creamsicle" togs that they will don for the Thursday night game against Atlanta in Week 15, the Bucs are also wearing, for this season only, a white version of their original uniforms worn during the 1976 season. Those uniforms will make their debut in the home opener against the Jets in Week Three and will be broken out again when the Bucs play at Seattle in Week Five, a game that is a battle of the NFL's two expansion teams from 1976.
• While Todd Bowles remains the play-caller for Tampa Bay's defense, he did make some changes to his defensive coaching staff. Mike Caldwell, who was part of the Bucs' staff from 2019-21 when Bowles was the defensive coordinator, returns to tutor the inside linebackers. Larry Foote has moved from inside linebackers to outside linebackers and is also the team's run game coordinator. George Edwards, who previously coached the outside linebackers, is now the pass game coordinator.
• The Buccaneers have a handful of significant injury concerns to monitor as the 2025 season opens. Wide receiver Chris Godwin continues his return from a series lower leg injury suffered in Week Seven of last season and All-Pro left tackle Tristan Wirfs underwent arthroscopic knee surgery in July. Both players are in doubt for Week One but neither was placed on the reserve/PUP list, preserving hope that they would miss fewer than the four games required by getting that designation. Wide receiver Jalen McMillan sustained a severe knee strain in Week Two of the preseason against Pittsburgh and is expected to be sidelined for at least half of the regular season. He is currently on injured reserve but can be designated for return.
• The changes made to the kickoff process by the NFL during the offseason appear to have impacted the Buccaneers' strategy for that play in a significant manner. Now that a touchback on a ball caught or landing in the end zone puts the ball at the receiving team's 35, the Buccaneers will likely rely less on touchbacks, which they produced on more than 75% of their kickoffs last year. With that in mind, the team took kick coverage units into serious consideration when shaping the 53-man roster and multiple players – including linebacker John Bullock, cornerback Josh Hayes, outside linebacker Markees Watts and wide receivers Ryan Miller and Kameron Johnson – made the team in large part due to their special teams contributions.

Falcons:

• While the Buccaneers have a new offensive coordinator in 2025, the Falcons have a new leader on the other side of the ball. Jimmy Lake lasted just one season in the defensive coordinator position under then-new Head Coach Raheem Morris in 2024 and has been replaced in 2025 by Jeff Ulbrich, who most recently served as the New York Jets' interim head coach after the in-season firing of Robert Saleh. Ulbrich is back in Atlanta after previously spending six seasons on their coaching staff, eventually rising to interim defensive coordinator and linebackers coach in 2020. In between, he was the Jets' defensive coordinator before his promotion last season.
• The Falcons pulled an unusual double-dip at the quarterback position during the 2024 offseason, first signing veteran Kirk Cousins to a four-year, $180 million contract in free agency, then spending the eighth-overall pick in the draft on the University of Washington's Michael Penix. Cousins started most of the 2024 season, notably leading his team to two shootout wins over the eventual division champion Buccaneers, but saw his effectiveness wane over the second half of the season. That led the Falcons to give Penix a shot for the final three games of the season, and his performance was promising enough to make the switch permanent. Penix is the unquestioned starter heading into 2025, though Cousins remains as a very experienced backup. The Falcons also signed former Charger Easton Stick to be part of the quarterback equation and eventually cut him before signing him back to the practice squad.
• Atlanta had to make some adjustments to their offensive line group thanks to a pair of significant injuries in August. First, valuable reserve tackle Storm Norton sustained an ankle injury in early August that required surgery and he is expected to miss up to two months of the regular season. Then, just two weeks after signing a large contract extension, starting right tackle Kaleb McGary suffered a season-ending knee injury in a training camp practice later in the month. The Falcons have seventh-round rookie Jack Nelson and trade acquisition Michael Jerrell as reserves at the tackle position but intend to start the season with veteran Elijah Wilkinson at right tackle. Wilkinson only played in two games last season, but he started nine contests at left guard for the Falcons in 2023.
• Two long-standing performers in the trenches for Atlanta departed for new NFL homes during the 2025 offseason. Defensive tackle Grady Jarrett was released in a cap-related move and signed with the Bears, while former starting center Drew Dalman hit free agency and also landed in Chicago. Two defenders the team shortly before the start of last season, outside linebacker Matthew Judon and safety Justin Simmons, were also not retained for 2025.

INJURY REPORT

Key:

DNP: Did not participate in practice

LP: Limited participation in practice

FP: Full participation in practice

NL: Not listed

Buccaneers:

• WR Chris Godwin (ankle) – WEDS: DNP
• CB Josh Hayes (ankle) – WEDS: FP
• S Christian Izien (oblique) – WEDS: DNP
• CB Benjamin Morrison (quad) – WEDS: LP
• TE Cade Otton (groin) – WEDS: LP
• OLB Haason Reddick (not injury related) – WEDS: DNP
• RB Sean Tucker (hand) – WEDS: FP
• DL Vita Vea (foot) – WEDS: DNP
• T Tristan Wirfs (knee) – WEDS: DNP

Falcons:

• S DeMarcco Hellams (hamstring) – WEDS: DNP
• WR Darnell Mooney (shoulder) – WEDS: LP
• T Jack Nelson (calf) – WEDS: DNP
• CB Clark Phillips (rib) – WEDS: LP

WEATHER FORECAST

Domed stadium. Outside weather: Partly Cloudy. High of 85, low of 65, 15% chance of rain, 56% humidity, winds out of the NNW at 5-10 mph.

GAME REFEREE

Head referee: Land Clark (eighth season, sixth as referee)

BETTING LINE

• Favorite: Buccaneers (-2.5)
• Over/Under: 46.5

INDIVIDUAL STAT LEADERS (final 2024)

Buccaneers-

Points Scored: K Chase McLauglin, 144

Touchdowns: WR Mike Evans, 11

Passing Yards: QB Baker Mayfield, 4,500

Passer Rating: QB Baker Mayfield, 106.8

Rushing Yards: RB Bucky Irving, 1,122

Receptions: WR Mike Evans, 74

Receiving Yards: WR Mike Evans, 1,004

Interceptions: CB Zyon McCollum/S Tykee Smith, 2

Sacks: DL Calijah Kancey, 7.5

Tackles: LB Lavonte David, 122

Falcons-

Points Scored: K Younghoe Koo, 101

Touchdowns: RB Bijan Robinson, 15

Passing Yards: QB Kirk Cousins, 3,508

Passer Rating: QB Kirk Cousins, 88.6

Rushing Yards: RB Bijan Robinson, 1,456

Receptions: WR Drake London, 100

Receiving Yards: WR Drake London, 1,271

Interceptions: S Jessie Bates, 4

Sacks: OLB Arnold Ebiketie, 6.5

Tackles: LB Kaden Elliss, 150

TEAM STAT RANKINGS (final 2024)

Buccaneers-

Scoring Offense: 4th (29.5 ppg)

Total Offense: 3rd (399.6 ypg)

Rushing Offense: 4th (149.2 ypg)

Passing Offense: 3rd (250.4 ypg)

First Downs Per Game: 2nd (23.2)

Third-Down Pct.: 1st (50.9%)

Sacks Per Pass Attempt Allowed: 17th (7.01%)

Red Zone TD Pct.: 4th (66.7%)

Scoring Defense: 16th (22.6 ppg)

Total Defense: 18th (341.8 ypg)

Rushing Defense: 4th (97.8 ypg)

Passing Defense: 29th (243.9 ypg)

First Downs Allowed Per Game: 20th (19.8)

Third-Down Pct. Allowed: 14th (38.1%)

Sacks Per Pass Attempt: 16th (7.30%)

Red Zone TD Pct. Allowed: 14th (54.4%)

Turnover Margin: t-20th (-5)

Falcons-

Scoring Offense: 14th (22.9 ppg)

Total Offense: 6th (369.8 ypg)

Rushing Offense: 10th (130.5 ypg)

Passing Offense: 5th (239.3 ypg)

First Downs Per Game: 8th (21.1)

Third-Down Pct.: 17th (39.2%)

Sacks Per Pass Attempt Allowed: 7th (5.72%)

Red Zone TD Pct.: 20th (54.7)

Scoring Defense: 23rd (24.9 ppg)

Total Defense: 23rd (345.2 ypg)

Rushing Defense: 15th (120.6 ypg)

Passing Defense: 22nd (224.5 ypg)

First Downs Allowed Per Game: t-25th (20.4)

Third-Down Pct. Allowed: 31st (45.3%)

Sacks Per Pass Attempt: 31st (5.36%)

Red Zone TD Pct. Allowed: 28th (64.9%)

Turnover Margin: t-23rd (-6)

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

• WR Mike Evans has 12,684 career receiving yards to rank 24th in NFL history in that category, With 38 more yards on Sunday he would pass Hall of Famer Art Monk (12,721) for the 23rd spot. If Evans were to get to 102 yards on Sunday he would also pass Irving Fryar (12,785) for 22nd place.
• QB Baker Mayfield has had nine 300-yard passing games in just two seasons with the Buccaneers. One more would tie him with Doug Williams for the fourth-most 300-yard games in franchise history.
• RB Rachaad White has 11 career receiving touchdowns. Only Mike Alstott has more by a running back in franchise history and two more for White would pull him even with Alstott.
• Chase McLaughlin has scored 264 points in just two seasons as the Buccaneers' kicker. He already ranks 10th on the team's all-time scoring list and with 13 more points would pass James Wilder for ninth place.

NOTABLY QUOTABLE

• Head Coach Todd Bowles on game-planning for a quarterback with limited tape like Michael Penix:
  "No more different than them preparing for a new [offensive coordinator] calling it. You know, it's about the same. You prepare for the scheme as opposed to the quarterback. He has certain things he likes, I'm sure, and they have certain things they like to run for him. We've just got to play fundamentally sound football. The first three weeks are going to be like that. And everybody's going to have new wrinkles. Nobody is going to be settled in yet. So, for us to play fast and play sound, we've just got to execute."
• Quarterback Baker Mayfield on Offensive Coordinator Josh Grizzard's handling of his new role: "I think he's handled it great. From listening on the sideline in the preseason games to the communication, and also being able to communicate with him when I'm not playing in the preseason – just what he's thinking as the game flows and what we would try and set up. I think he's handled it really well. The offense as a whole has been locked in. He was a little bit more behind the scenes last year, so he had a different relationship with guys being able to joke around with them. He's still able to do [that], but now when he's up there on stage installing, everybody's locked in because he's really focused on the details. Guys pay attention when he's speaking.
• Running back Bucky Irving on what impresses him about Atlanta Falcons RB Bijan Robinson: "You always watch the running backs that do [well] in this league. Bijan is a great running back in this league. Being able to stop on a dime, make cuts -- great back out of the backfield. You always give praises to [a] running back that is doing [well] in this league."
• Wide receiver Emeka Egbuka on how he feels going up against the Falcons' secondary unit: "I am super excited. This is what it is all about. The NFL is the best against the best, so I am really excited to be able to test my talents and see how I am able to perform. I already have an idea from going against some guys in practice and when it comes to their safeties like Xavier Watts -- the last college game I played, I played against him. [There are] familiar faces out there, but also some new ones -- really talented people [that] I am excited to display my talents against."
• Tackle Luke Goedeke on getting a contract extension prior to the season: "It has been a whirlwind. First and foremost: thanks to God -- I would not be here without him. The front office, owners, the coaching staff, my teammates, and all the staff that make this place go day-in and day-out. They all have a piece to play in this whole ordeal, and I could not be more grateful or thankful to be where I am today. Where I have come from in my life and to where I am today -- it is a surreal moment. I do not think it has truly hit me yet. I am the same guy day-in and day-out. I am still punching in the timecard every morning and punching out. [I am] trying to be the best teammate to help the Bucs bring a Super Bowl back to Tampa."