The 7-6 Tampa Bay Buccaneers get a rematch with the 4-9 Atlanta Falcons in Week 15, this time in front of a national audience on the Thursday Night Football stage. The Buccaneers defeated the Falcons in Atlanta in Week One, 23-20, on Emeka Egbuka's touchdown catch with 59 seconds remaining. Atlanta swept the series in 2024 and the Bucs will try to return the favor in 2025 as they seek their fifth consecutive NFC South title.
The Buccaneers are coming off a disappointing home loss to another division foe, the New Orleans Saints, in Week 14. The game was played in an unrelenting rainstorm, which made it difficult for either team to sustain a productive passing attack, but Tyler Shough's second long touchdown run of the game in the fourth quarter gave the visitors a 24-20 victory. The Bucs may have found the salve for the recent passing game woes, however, as both Mike Evans and Jalen McMillan have been activated from injured reserve and left tackle Tristan Wirfs is set to return after missing one game.
The Falcons also lost in Week 14, a 37-9 beatdown from the red-hot Seattle Seahawks, and that result officially eliminated them from playoff contention. Their offense is led by a new quarterback than the one the Bucs faced in Week One, though not one they are unfamiliar with. Veteran Kirk Cousins has replaced the injured Michael Penix and will attempt to duplicate his results from last season when he led the Falcons to two wins over the Buccaneers. Though leading receiver Drake London will miss a fourth straight game due to a knee injury but Cousins still has multiple dangerous weapons at his disposal, including running back Bijan Robinson, who leads the NFL in yards from scrimmage. Atlanta's defense also appears to have solved its pass rush deficiency and is now third in the NFL in sacks per pass play rate, led by rookie first-rounders Jalon Walker and James Pearce.
Will the Falcons play spoiler to the Bucs' playoff hopes or can the Bucs start a final-month winning streak? Here are four major storylines and four head-to-head player battles to keep an eye on in Week 15 as the Bucs try log another intra-divisional win.
TOP STORYLINES
Freakish Four-Wide – The day the Buccaneers and their fans have been dreaming about since April is here. Mike Evans and Jalen McMillan have been activated from injured reserve and assuming they play on Thursday night – both are officially listed as questionable on the injury report – the Bucs will finally be able to deploy the combination of those two, Chris Godwin and Emeka Egbuka in the same game. Evans and Godwin are already cemented as the two most accomplished receivers in franchise history, while McMillan was one of the NFL's more productive receivers down the stretch in his 2024 rookie campaign. With all three of those players missing significant playing time, Egbuka, this year's first-round draft pick, has shouldered the load as the team's number-one passing option for much of the season. While he is among the NFL's top rookies with 806 receiving yards and six touchdowns, his production has dipped a bit in the last month as defenses have been focusing more of their attention on limiting his opportunities. With Evans and McMillan back in the mix and Godwin steadily working his way back to top form, those defenses will face more difficult decisions as to which receiver they will roll extra coverage too.
No, Mr. Cousins, We Don't Like That – As noted above, Cousins led the Falcons to two wins over the Buccaneers last season, and he put up gaudy numbers in the process. He tossed four touchdowns in each of those two contests and racked up a total of nearly 800 passing yards. The Buccaneers were also the opponent for the famous (or infamous, depending upon your vantage point) Washington game in 2015 in which Cousins rallied his team from a 24-0 halftime deficit to a 31-30 win and celebrated on his way to the locker room with repeated shouts of, "You like that?!" Overall, in five career starts against Tampa Bay during his 14-year career, Cousins has completed 74.5% of his passes for 334.2 yards per game, 14 touchdowns, two interceptions and a 116.1 passer rating. His overall numbers since taking over for Penix this season have not been the best of his career – 3-3 touchdown-interception ratio, 140.8 passing yards per game, 76.5 passer rating – but that also comes in just a four-game sample size. The Buccaneers' defense is expecting a significant challenge from Cousins and the Falcons passing attack and will likely need to get frequent pressure on the 37-year-old passer in order to keep his numbers in check.
The South Lies in the Balance – The NFC South is keeping things in-house in Week 15. While the Bucs and Falcons are doing battle in Tampa, the Carolina Panthers will be traveling to New Orleans to take on the Saints on Sunday. The combination of results in those two contests will either keep the Bucs and Panthers in a tie for first in the division or give one of them a one-game lead with three weeks to play and two head-to-head matchups coming up. Given how little time is left in the regular season, that could prove to be a massive advantage for the team that surges ahead. In addition to the overall lead in the standings, these results will affect the Bucs' and Panthers' record in games played in division opponents, which is the next tiebreaker after head-to-head record. If Tampa Bay and Carolina end up splitting their two upcoming games, that tiebreaker may end up sending one or the other to the postseason. Since the Bucs are playing a standalone game on Thursday, both teams will be able to watch how the other's fate unfolds in Week 15.
Hold the Bijan – Falcons running back Bijan Robinson is seventh in the NFL with 1,081 rushing yards, and that makes the Bucs' efforts to hold him to 24 yards on 12 carries in Week One look pretty impressive. The problem is, Robinson also caught six passes for 100 yards and a touchdown on that afternoon, and it is outings like that one that have him in first place in the NFL in yards from scrimmage, with 1,683. Tampa Bay's run defense is ranked eighth in the NFL, allowing 100.6 yards per game and has mostly only had bad outings against opponents with very mobile quarterbacks. However, opposing running backs have had more luck against the Buccaneers when their quarterbacks have gotten them the ball out in space on passing plays, which mostly avoids the Bucs' strong interior line. Pursuit angles, sure tackling and swarming to the football will be key for the Buccaneers as they try to keep Robinson from roaming around in their secondary on Thursday night.
KEY MATCHUPS
- Falcons TE Kyle Pitts vs. Buccaneers S Christian Izien
The Saints got five catches for 54 yards out of Juwan Johnson and Foster Moreau last Sunday, and they weren't the first tight ends to find some success working the middle of the field on the Buccaneers in 2025. In fact, Kyle Pitts had seven catches for 59 yards against the Bucs in Week One, and in two contests against Tampa Bay last season put up a combined 11 catches for 179 yards and two touchdowns. Taken fourth overall in the 2021 draft, Pitts was the highest-drafted tight end in league history because he is ridiculously athletic for the position. With Drake London missing time, Pitts has moved to the top of the Falcons' pass-catching chart with 62 receptions for 631 yards and one touchdown. Izien is headed for a more significant role in the Bucs' defense with starting safety Tykee Smith considered doubtful to play Thursday due to a neck and shoulder injury. Izien took over for Smith for part of last Sunday's game due to that injury and made eight tackles in 27 defensive snaps to lead the team. While he has mostly played on special teams this year, Izien has been remarkably versatile throughout his three seasons in the league and has had a tendency to make some key plays when he's gotten his opportunities. A strong and rugged tackler, Izien also has three interceptions and two forced fumbles in just 14 career starts. He won't be the only player involved in slowing down Pitts, but he is likely to get some one-on-one moments with the speedy tight end.
- Buccaneers WR Mike Evans vs. Falcons CB AJ. Terrell
The Buccaneers are thrilled to be getting Mike Evans back in the mold – assuming he his cleared to play on Thursday night – not only because of his Pro Bowl-level production but because of the extra attention he draws from opposing defenses, making life easier for the team's other pass-catchers. A.J. Terrell is sure to give Evans much of his attention as the Falcons' top cornerback, which could in turn reduce how much attention Baker Mayfield is willing to give his top receiver. Many other passers have chosen to stay away from Terrell, as he has been targeted on only 10.9% of his coverage snaps this season, the fourth-lowest rate among NFL cornerbacks, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. He has allowed just 0.7 yards per coverage snap, the eighth-lowest mark in the league. At 6-1 and 200 points, Terrell has good size and length for the position, which he will need to compete with the 6-5 Evans, who is a master at contested catches and jump balls.
- Falcons RB Tyler Allgeier vs. Buccaneers DL Logan Hall
As outlined above, Bijan Robinson has been the engine in the Falcons' rushing attack this season and he is clearly the lead man in the Falcons' backfield, as his 271 touches are more than twice as many as the 130 that Allgeier has seen. All of that said, Allgeier is another talented ballcarrier the Buccaneers will need to contain, particularly in the red zone. Allgeier's eight rushing touchdowns represent more than half of the team's totals this year are three more than Robinson has scored. The 5-10, 225-pound back has a more bruising style than his nimble-footed teammate and is a weapon in short-yardage situations. Hall is part of a Bucs' run defense that, as noted earlier, is eighth in the league and has generally done a good job against opposing team's top backs this season. With the early-season loss of Calijah Kancey, Hall has taken on a more sizeable role in the Bucs' defensive front and now usually plays about 75% of the snaps. He's big and powerful and can hold his ground against offensive linemen trying to surge forward in the run game. With Vita Vea commanding frequent double-teams, Hall will be a crucial part of the first line of defense against Robinson.
- Buccaneers T Tristan Wirfs vs. Falcons EDGE James Pearce
After ranking near the bottom of the league's sack charts for multiple years running, the Falcons threw the kitchen sink at the problem this past offseason. After signing Leonard Floyd in free agency, the team drafted Georgia edge rusher Jalon Walker 15th overall and then gave up a future first-round selection to move back into the first round and nab Tennessee's James Pearce. Both rookies have made an impact for a team that has rushed the passer much more effectively in 2025, and it's Pearce who leads the team with 6.0 sacks and 11 quarterback hits. We included Tristan Wirfs in our highlighted matchups last week, but he ended up not playing due to an oblique injury so we're going to circle back to him this week. Wirfs did not have a game-status designation on the Wednesday injury report and thus is expected to return to action. Pearce has aligned at right end on 59.8% of his snaps this season, which will make him primarily Wirfs' problem on Thursday night. In the Week One Bucs-Falcons game, which was obviously Pearce's NFL debut, he was held without a tackle or a sack and recorded just one QB hit. A two-time first-team All-Pro, including one such honor last season at left tackle, Wirfs is massive but nimble and is able to shut down even the most dangerous edge rushers in the NFL.
Another Key Storyline this week is our Moffitt Stories of Courage special guest, Steven Almodovar. Steven Almodovar's journey began in 2020, when at just 33 he was diagnosed with B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia—news that followed a hiking trip in Utah where the dramatic shift between ten-mile days and mornings he couldn't get out of bed signaled something was seriously wrong. Since then, he has endured an extraordinary range of treatments at Moffitt, including chemotherapy, immunotherapy, radiation, a stem cell transplant, and CAR-T therapy. Through it all, his strength has been deeply anchored in the unwavering love of his mom, who became his caregiver, and the support of friends and family who never let him face a day alone. Now Steven continues to embrace life fully, fueled by his passion for travel and his Florida roots. To others navigating their own cancer journey, he offers a message shaped by experience and hope: stay positive and look toward the future—there will be better days ahead. The Buccaneers are honored to host Steven at this weekend's game.
