NBC's Al Michaels (left), Cris Collinsworth (middle) and Bob Costas (right) will be present for the Buccaneers' Thursday Night Football game against the Falcons. (Photo/ Associated Press)*
The Buccaneers are set to take the field in prime time on Thursday night (8:25 p.m. ET kickoff) when they host the Falcons at Raymond James Stadium. It will be Tampa Bay's second matchup with Atlanta, the current division leader, after the Bucs downed the Falcons, 31-24, in Week 1. The Bucs enter the game in the thick of the race for the NFC South title, currently sitting in second place with a 3-4 record.
Thursday night's game will be broadcast locally and nationally by the NFL Network. For local fans unable to make it to Raymond James Stadium, the game will also be broadcast by WFLA NBC 8. Thursday night's game marks the first time NBC has produced a Thursday Night Football broadcast and promises to bring the same level of excitement and entertainment as the network's successful Football Night in America broadcast on Sunday nights.
Both NBC and the NFL Network will host pregame shows at Raymond James Stadium, with former Buccaneers coach and Hall of Famer Tony Dungy appearing on NBC's set. The NFL Network is also hosting a postgame show from the field.
[
](http://www.ticketmaster.com/tampa-bay-buccaneers-vs-atlanta-falcons-tampa-florida-11-03-2016/event/0D0050879B1D8759?artistid=806026&majorcatid=10004&minorcatid=8&camefrom=CFCTBBUCSbucsdotcom_TicketMatrix)NBC's broadcast kicks off at 7:30 p.m. ET with a LIVE pre-game show broadcast directly from the field at Raymond James Stadium. Longtime NBC broadcaster Bob Costas will be joined by Dungy and former All-Pro safety Rodney Harrison as they update a national TV audience on all the latest news and notes from Tampa.
At kickoff, the action is turned over to the Emmy Award-winning team of Cris Collinsworth and Al Michaels, who will call the game, with sideline reporter Heather Cox providing updates throughout the evening.
National viewers will be able to follow the action LIVE on NFL Network, who will provide coverage with their own award-winning team of Rich Eisen, Marshall Faulk, Steve Marinucci, Michael Irvin, Tiffany Blackmon and Ian Rappaport.
In addition to marking NBC's first Thursday Night Football broadcast, the game will also celebrate the induction of former Bucs safety John Lynch into the team's Ring of Honor and showcase both clubs' unique Color Rush uniforms.
Lynch, a nine-time Pro Bowl selection, is No. 5 on the Buccaneers' all-time tackling list. He has been a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame for the past two years.
Lynch will be joining other Buccaneer legends Lee Roy Selmon, John McKay, Jimmie Giles, Paul Gruber, Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks, Mike Alstott and Doug Williams as just the ninth member of the club's vaunted Ring of Honor.
The Buccaneers picked up their first Thursday Night Football win in Minnesota in 2012 when they downed the Vikings, 36-17. A Bucs victory on Thursday night would keep them in second place in the division and holding an all-important tie-breaker with the Falcons.
