The final month of the 2025 season has arrived and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are still within reach of a record fifth straight NFC South title. A run of four losses in five weeks has kept that ultimate regular-season goal at arm's length, however, and the Buccaneers find themselves in a tie atop the division with the Carolina Panthers, as both teams are 7-6. Three of the last four games for both of those teams are against division foes, including two upcoming head-to-head battles.

The first of those three division games, and the sole focus for the Buccaneers in Week 15, is a visit from the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night for a nationally televised game on Amazon Prime Video. Tampa Bay will be trying to maintain "control of its own destiny," as they say, while the 4-9 Falcons will surely be stimulated by the opportunity to play spoiler against their not-so-friendly division rivals. A loss to Seattle on Sunday officially ended Atlanta's playoff hopes but it shouldn't do too much to dampen their motivation at Raymond James Stadium.

The Buccaneers might actually be pleased by the short week turnaround from a Sunday game to a Thursday night affair, as it won't give them much time to dwell on a Week 14 loss to a two-win New Orleans squad. Head Coach Todd Bowles said the Bucs are handling business as they should to rebound from that disappointing result.

"Professionally," said Bowles. We lost [Sunday] and we've got to get over it. We've got be big boys, we've got to get over it and own what we did, and we've got to get better at things we need to get better at. We've got to look in the mirror – we understand that as a group we've been through this before, but it's different every single year and every time [we] do it. Nobody likes to lose, and you're coming on a short week, a chance to get the bad taste out of your mouth, but they should be upset. They should own what they do, we as coaches own what we do, and as a team own what we do, and we've got to come out Thursday and we've got to correct them."

The Bucs are relying on walk-throughs in the short week rather than full-speed practices, not only due to the condensed schedule but also a rather lengthy injury list. The work is primarily mental, particularly in terms of handling the varied pressure from a Falcons' defense that ranks third in the NFL in sacks-per-pass play rate, and quarterback Baker Mayfield explained that the way to make that work is to keep talking.

"Just overcommunicate when we start to get the game plan in," he said. "You have to squeeze a couple of days into one. Overcommunicate what the looks we're expecting, what the checks are, the alerts, especially when it comes to blitz pickup stuff. For me, that's the really important part just because they pressure a lot. They bring a bunch of different fronts, different pressures, guys kind of all over, so that's really the emphasis for us this week. After that, it's just overcommunicating what we're trying to get done."

Tampa Bay's defense will have to communicate as well to slow down running back Bijan Robinson, who leads the NFL with 1,683 yards from scrimmage. In their Week One win in Atlanta, the Buccaneers limited Robinson to just 24 yards on 12 carries…but also allowed him to catch six passes for 100 yards and a touchdown.

"It is going to take all 11 [players], even the backside cornerback," said Run Game Coordinator/Outside Linebackers Coach Larry Foote. "We show those guys videos -- everybody knows he has that ability. If you want to break it down, he can jump-cut, he can get east and west faster than anybody, so when I say all 11 [players] and backside cornerbacks, backside guys [have] to do their job. That being said, you [have] to attack at the same time. It's going to take all 11 guys to get him on the ground. He's just that dangerous and we [have] to understand angles and how to attack him."

And then there is the matter of Kirk Cousins, the 14th-year veteran who is back in the saddle for Atlanta after young quarterback Michael Penix was lost for the season to a knee injury in November. Cousins is not having his finest season from a statistical standpoint in a small sample size of four games, with three touchdowns, three interceptions and a passer rating of 76.5, but he has a history of coming up big against the Buccaneers. In five starts against Tampa Bay during his career, Cousins has thrown 14 touchdown passes against just two interceptions, has averaged 334.2 passing yards per outing and has a 116.1 passer rating.

"He's always got the ball out [quick], that's what makes him one of the best in this league," said Foote. "He knows what to do with the ball, that's the challenge. Defensive backs, linebackers, everybody [must] understand we [have] to know our zones, our techniques, and [have] to know what he wants to do. That being said, we [have] to get a pass rush too. He's seen every coverage in this league, so we have to win our one-on-one matchups."

Robinson and Cousins are two of a myriad of challenges the Falcons will present to the Buccaneers on Thursday night as they try to forge a series split and Tampa Bay tries to maintain that control of its own destiny.

"For the most part, we know the ball is still in our court," said cornerback Jamel Dean. "We just have to take it one game at a time and just correct the mistakes that we made from last game and just build on that."

GAME AND BROADCAST DETAILS

Atlanta Falcons (4-9) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-6)

Thursday, December 11, 8:15 p.m. ET

Raymond James Stadium (capacity: 65,844)

Tampa, Florida

TV Broadcast Team: Al Michaels (play-by-play), Kirk Herbstreit (analyst), Kaylee Hartung (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)

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 2025 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

When Atlanta comes to town on Thursday night it will be an opportunity for the Buccaneers to regain the lead in the two teams' all-time head-to-head series. If they do so, it would mark the 10th time that the lead in the series has changed hands. With a 23-20 win in Atlanta in this year's season opener, the Buccaneers tied things up, 32-32. Baker Mayfield threw three touchdown passes in the Bucs' comeback victory, including the 25-yard game-winner to rookie Emeka Egbuka with less than a minute to play.

Atlanta engineered the ninth lead change in the series by sweeping both games in 2024. 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 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 Bucs have a slight head-to-head lead, 23-22. 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.
• 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.
• Wide receiver Deven Thompkins, who signed with the Falcon's practice squad in September and has been elevated to play in two recent games, first entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Buccaneers in May of 2022. He appeared in 22 games for Tampa Bay in 2022 and 2023, recording 28 receptions for 158 yards and one touchdown.
• Quarterback Kyle Trask, who was signed to the Falcons' practice squad on November 19, was a second-round draft pick by the Buccaneers in 2021. He spent four seasons in Tampa but only got into seven games with no starts while backing up first Tom Brady and then Baker Mayfield. Trask completed four of 11 passes for 28 yards as a Buccaneer.

SENIOR COACHING STAFFS

Tampa Bay:

• Head Coach Todd Bowles

• Offensive Coordinator Josh Grizzard

• Run Game Coordinator/Offensive Line Coach

• Pass Game Coordinator George Edwards

• Run 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:

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

Falcons:

• WR/KR Jamal Agnew (FA)
• S Billy Bowman (4th-round draft pick…on season-ending injured reserve)
• CB Cobee Bryant (UDFA)
• RB Nathan Carter (UDFA)
• LB Divine Deablo (UFA)
• OLB Leonard Floyd (FA)
• CB Mike Ford (UFA)
• TE Feleipe Franks (UFA)
• S Jordan Fuller (FA)
• K Zane Gonzalez (FA)
• S Ronnie Harrison (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)
• QB Easton Stick (UFA)
• OLB Jalon Walker (1st-round draft pick)
• S Xavier Watts (3rd-round draft pick)

ADDITIONAL 2025 CHANGES/DEVELOPMENTS OF NOTE

Buccaneers:

• The Buccaneers rolled 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 is certainly evolving 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 have unveiled 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 have also worn, for this season only, a white version of their original uniforms worn during the 1976 season. Those uniforms made their debut in the home opener against the Jets in Week Three and were broken out again when the Bucs played at Seattle in Week Five, a game that was 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 started the season without All-Pro left tackle Tristan Wirfs and wide receiver Chris Godwin, but both returned to the lineup in Week Four. However, the Buccaneers' injured reserve list has grown considerably as the season has progressed. Wide receiver Jalen McMillan sustained a severe neck strain in Week Two of the preseason against Pittsburgh and is just now in his 21-day widow to return from injured reserve. Since the start of the season, the Buccaneers have also lost defensive linemen Calijah Kancey, tackle Luke Goedeke, guard Cody Mauch, tight end Ko Kieft and safety Rashad Wisdom to injured reserve. Goedeke has since returned to the active roster but Mauch and Kieft are likely to miss the rest of the season. Godwin suffered a second injury that sidelined him for five weeks and fellow wide receiver Mike Evans is on injured reserve due to a fractured collarbone but is also in his 21-day window to return to the active roster.
• 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 have relied a lot 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.
• However, things have changed since the season began. Penix suffered a season-ending knee injury in November and Cousins has returned to the lineup, starting the last two games, plus one in November. Stick was promoted to the active roster and the Falcons signed former Buccaneer Kyle Trask to the practice squad as a third option.
• The Falcons have also made several changes at the placekicker spot since the start of the regular season. Long-time Atlanta kicker Younghoe Koo started the season in that spot but was released after missing a potential game-tying field goal in a Week One loss to Tampa Bay. Atlanta then went with John Parker Romo, who kicked in seven games and made 11 of 14 field goals and 12 of 13 extra point tries before being waived in November. The current jobholder is Zane Gonzalez, who has kicked in the last four games and made seven of eight field goals and all nine PATs.
• 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 ^:

• G Ben Bredeson (knee) – MON: DNP; TUES: Placed on injured reserve.
• LB SirVocea Dennis (hip) – MON: DNP; TUES: DNP
• WR Mike Evans* (collarbone) – MON: LP; TUES: LP
• WR Chris Godwin (fibula) – MON: LP; TUES: FP
• RB Bucky Irving (shoulder) – MON: FP; TUES: FP
• S Christian Izien (neck) – MON: DNP; TUES: LP
• QB Baker Mayfield (left shoulder) – MON: FP; TUES: FP
• WR Jalen McMillan* (neck) – MON: LP; TUES: LP
• CB Benjamin Morrison (hamstring) – MON: FP; TUES: FP
• TE Cade Otton (knee) – MON: DNP; TUES: DNP
• OLB Haason Reddick (ankle) – MON: DNP; TUES: LP
• S Tykee Smith (neck/shoulder) – MON: DNP; TUES: DNP
• T Tristan Wirfs (oblique) – MON: LP; TUES: LP
• S Rashad Wisdom* (quad) – MON: FP; TUES: FP

^ The Buccaneers conducted a walk-through on Monday. The practice status reports from that day are estimations.

* Evans, McMillan and Wisdom are in their 21-day windows to return from injured reserve.

Falcons:

• DL Brandon Dorlus (groin) – MON: LP; TUES: LP
• ILB Kaden Elliss (elbow) – MON: FP; TUES: FP
• WR KhaDarel Hodge (shoulder) – MON: LP; TUES: LP
• G Chris Lindstrom (foot) – MON: LP; TUES: LP
• WR Drake London (knee) – MON: DNP; TUES: DNP
• DL David Onyemata (foot) – MON: LP; TUES: LP
• TE Kyle Pitts (knee) – MON: LP; TUES: LP
• CB A.J. Terrell (neck) – MON: LP; TUES: LP
• OLB Jalon Walker (quad) – MON: LP; TUES: LP

^ The Falcons did not practice on Monday. The practice status reports from that day are estimations.

BUCCANEERS' UNIFORM COMBINATION

The Buccaneers will wear Creamsicle jerseys and white pants in Week 15.

WEATHER FORECAST

Mostly clear evening skies, high of 72, low of 49, 5% chance of rain, 79% humidity, winds out of the NNE at 4 mph.

GAME REFEREE

Head referee: Carl Cheffers (26th season, 18th as referee)

BETTING LINE

• Favorite: Buccaneers (-5.5)
• Over/Under: 44.5

INDIVIDUAL STAT LEADERS

Buccaneers-

Points Scored: K Chase McLaughlin, 97

Touchdowns: WR Emeka Egbuka/RB Sean Tucker, 6

Passing Yards: QB Baker Mayfield, 2,722

Passer Rating: QB Baker Mayfield, 90.6

Rushing Yards: RB Rachaad White, 474

Receptions: WR Emeka Egbuka, 54

Receiving Yards: WR Emeka Egbuka, 806

Interceptions: LB Jamel Dean, 3

Sacks: Yaya Diaby, 6.0

Tackles: S Tykee Smith, 90

Falcons-

Points Scored: RB Tyler Allgeier, 48

Touchdowns: RB Tyler Allgeier, 8

Passing Yards: QB Michael Penix*, 1,982

Passer Rating: QB Michael Penix*, 88.5

Rushing Yards: RB Bijan Robinson, 1,081

Receptions: TE Kyle Pitts, 62

Receiving Yards: WR Drake London, 810

Interceptions: S Xavier Watts, 3

Sacks: DL Brandon Dorlus/James Pearce, 6.0

Tackles: LB Kaden Elliss, 88

* On season-ending injured reserve

TEAM STAT RANKINGS

Buccaneers-

Scoring Offense: 17th (23.0 ppg)

Total Offense: 22nd (315.0 ypg)

Rushing Offense: 20th (115.2 ypg)

Passing Offense: 20th (199.8 ypg)

First Downs Per Game: 22nd (18.6)

Third-Down Pct.: 19th (38.4%)

Sacks Per Pass Attempt Allowed: 12th (6.02%)

Red Zone TD Pct.: t-25th (50.0%)

Scoring Defense: 23rd (25.0 ppg)

Total Defense: 21st (338.4 ypg)

Rushing Defense: 8th (100.6 ypg)

Passing Defense: 27th (237.8 ypg)

First Downs Allowed Per Game: 12th (18.7)

Third-Down Pct. Allowed: 20th (40.1%)

Sacks Per Pass Attempt: 16th (7.36%)

Red Zone TD Pct. Allowed: 30th (68.8%)

Turnover Margin: t-4th (+9)

Falcons-

Scoring Offense: 27th (19.4 ppg)

Total Offense: 16th (330.0 ypg)

Rushing Offense: 12th (123.6 ypg)

Passing Offense: 18th (206.4 ypg)

First Downs Per Game: 18th (19.2)

Third-Down Pct.: 31st (31.0%)

Sacks Per Pass Attempt Allowed: 8th (4.83%)

Red Zone TD Pct.: t-17th (57.9%)

Scoring Defense: 20th (24.1 ppg)

Total Defense: 14th (322.5 ypg)

Rushing Defense: 24th (131.0 ypg)

Passing Defense: 9th (191.5 ypg)

First Downs Allowed Per Game: 14th (19.2)

Third-Down Pct. Allowed: 18th (39.5%)

Sacks Per Pass Attempt: 3rd (11.00%)

Red Zone TD Pct. Allowed: 12th (55.0%)

Turnover Margin: 11th (+2)

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

• LB Lavonte David secured his 14th interception in the Bucs' Week Five win in Seattle, setting up the game-ending field goal. With one more interception, he would join Pro Football Hall of Famers Charles Woodson and Ray Lewis as the only players with 15-plus interceptions, 15-plus forced fumbles and 15-plus fumble recoveries since data began being tracked in 1994.
• David also has 176 career tackles for loss and needs one more to pass Aaron Donald for the third-most TFLs among all NFL players since that statistic began being tracked in 2008.
• WR Chris Godwin has 595 career catches after leading the team with five grabs against New Orleans in Week 14. With five more, he would join his teammate, Mike Evans, as the only players in franchise history to hit the 600-catch mark. He also needs 40 receiving yards to join Evans on the list of Bucs with at least 7,500 receiving yards.
• S Antoine Winfield Jr. has 18.0 career sacks, tied with four other players for the 11th most by a defensive back since sacks became an official statistic in 1982. Two more sacks would allow him to tie Charles Woodson for 10th place on that list.
• WR Emeka Egbuka has 806 receiving yards in 2025. With 13 more he would pass Lawrence Dawsey (818) for the fourth-most receiving yards by a rookie in team history.

NOTABLY QUOTABLE

• Head Coach Todd Bowles on struggling to convert on third and fourth downs this season after doing well in that area in 2024: "It didn't have to be at the strength it was last year, but we do have to execute it better, especially. We [have] to execute fourth downs better as well, especially the fourth-and-shorts, the fourth-and-1's. You want to come out on the plus side of most of them, and we understand that as a group. [On] third down, we are shooting ourselves in the foot. Sometimes it's the pressure or the rush, sometimes it's things that we [get] wrong, but we [have] to get that fixed."
• Offensive Coordinator Josh Grizzard on how to get RB Bucky Irving going earlier in games: "Get him into space more – get some things he has a better feel for. A lot like we're talking about on some of those interceptions, it's not on Buck on some of those where it wasn't blocked up properly and needs to be better executed on that end of it. When you have runs that go for minus-five or minus-eight, on the stat sheet it looks like his end of it where it's not on him if we didn't block it properly or get the thing run in the right direction. That's part of it. But, getting him going, and once he gets off that, you guys feel the energy he has when it comes to being able to get it to him more, getting into that rhythm, and going from there."
• Quarterback Baker Mayfield on struggling offensively recently and what needs to be fixed: "I think it comes back to what I've kind of hit on after the games we've lost, it's the little things. Whether it's me being on-time with my footwork, getting the protection aligned to where we can all be on the same page and it can come out on time, the depths of the routes, all that stuff and then it just comes down to executing. It's not one thing you can point at, but it's a culmination of all those things and we'll get it fixed."
• Run Game Coordinator/Outside Linebackers Coach Larry Foote on if there is something the team focuses on with it being a short week: "[We're] playing a divisional opponent, we know them, and they know us. At this point in the season, we just [have] to handle our business. We [have] to get better and at the end of the day, win. It's December, it's time to win. Style points don't matter at this point, give me one extra point than those guys and celebrate in the locker room."
• Cornerback Jamel Dean on going against Falcons QB Kirk Cousins: "He's an experienced quarterback, so he's seen everything that's come at him over the years. He's great at making good decisions once he recognizes it, so you have to be good at disguising what we might give them to see what we're in, because he'll just pick us apart."