Week five in the NFL is here in the blink of an eye and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers kick off the week on Thursday Night Football in Atlanta. With a chance to go 4-1 and give themselves a huge advantage to start this season, this team should be ready to go and look good as they did Sunday against the Eagles.
But former Buccaneers’ head coach Raheem Morris now has a new gig in Atlanta calling the shots for the Falcons as a division rival. It will be the first time he matches up against these Bucs but there is plenty of familiarity throughout this game, as these teams and coaches have a lot of experience with and against each other.
So what do the good folks at The 813 think with their insight on this short week? Here is a full dive into what we’re thinking this week:
JC Cornell (@CornellNFL)
Baker Mayfield continues his MVP campaign against the Falcons. Chris Godwin clips 100 yards receiving with Atlanta giving up the most yards to slot WR’s in the NFL. Rachaad White and Bucky Irving run wild while Liam Coen exposes the Falcons defense.
Bucs 28 - Falcons 17
Samer Ali (@TheSamerAli)
The Bucs offense starts fast again as Liam and Baker take advantage of the Cover-2 Falcons defense with Slot WR Extraordinaire Chris Godwin's knack for getting open in the 7-11 yard range, where the Falcons defense (and linebackers) has mostly struggled. I'd also expect the Bucs short passing and screen game to feature Rachaad White more than it has up to this point in the season. The Bucs will NOT pass the ball 47 times this week, and they should continue the positive momentum in the run game as Liam learns this offensive line's true strengths with more gap-scheme based runs (sweeps, counters, misdirection). The Bucs defense will have Vita Vea again so I expect them to get after a very immobile Kirk Cousins with and without the blitz, but more importantly keep the Atlanta running attack stuffed. Jordan Whitehead might play his best game ever as a Buccaneer this week, which says a lot, considering his impact thus far this season.
Bucs 28 - Falcons 16
Rock Riley (@realrockriley)
I thought the short week would take its toll on the Bucs but when I saw how they came out for practice Thursday. I believe they’ll get it done in Atlanta. The Bucs sure are beat up, but Todd Bowles has been doing a good job with his defensive game plan except for the Broncos game. He has Kirk Cousins’ number.
Vita Vea is on a mission.
Bucs 23 - Falcons 17
Stank Bastard (@StankBastard)
I fully expect Todd Bowles to compose another masterpiece and relentlessly pressure Kirk up the middle knocking him off his game while Baker and the boys expose Raheem and the Falcons Defense, for the frauds they are. The Bucs kiss Cousins with an L and move the Falcons out the way.
Bucs 31 - Falcons 12
James Yarcho (@JYarcho_BUCS)
Thursday games are rarely entertaining or crisp. This week, however, a divisional matchup for first place in the NFC South should have these teams a little more fired up and focused than a typical Thursday night game. Unfortunately for Tampa, they're short handed on the road.
This game has all the makings of a grind-it-out, slow, methodical slugfest. I expect heavy doses of Rachaad White, Bucky Irving, and Bijan Robinson for the vast majority of the night. It'll be close and likely come down to whoever has the ball last kicking a field goal. That'll be the Bucs as they move to 4-1 on the season
Bucs 23 - Falcons 20
Maura Carey (@mauracareyNFL)
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers kick off divisional play with a Thursday Night Football competition against the Atlanta Falcons. Coming off a dominant outing vs. the Philadelphia Eagles, the Bucs look to keep momentum rolling. While Tampa Bay had the gift of consistency from one year to another, the Falcons look different this year, starting with head coach Raheem Morris and quarterback Kirk Cousins. Baker Mayfield continues an impressive start to the season and a tight-knit Bucs’ team pulls ahead, maintaining the NFC South lead with a 21-16 win.
Bucs 21 - Falcons 16
Toby Valera (@sniffytobias)
Vea back in the lineup proved to be the missing link to our pass rushing struggles we had against Denver. That loss reminded this organization that nothing comes easy and I believe sets the tone for the rest of the season. At some point our run game will break out but in the meantime I like Baker and company to continue putting up numbers on the scoreboard. This is our 1st division matchup and Bowles will have the lads ready to go on Thursday.
Bucs 38 - Falcons 13
Jaret Rojas (@RojasTalksTampa)
First divisional game and it’s great for the Bucs that they see this Falcons team when they do in the season. Seeing Atlanta early in week five, as newly-acquired QB Kirk Cousins is still getting acquainted with this offense, is going to be an issue for the banged up Falcons’ o-line, as Todd Bowles is going to bring all sorts of blitz packages in effort to get to Cousins. Seeing them again in week eight, Tampa Bay has a good chance to get an early season head-start, when most went with the Falcons to win the NFC South.
The defense can set the tone with early sacks or early, consecutive three-and-outs. Pressure will be mandatory, but locking in on defending the short pass completions, as this Falcons offense hasn’t had many explosive plays.
But Atlanta is also one of the best teams at stopping explosive plays, giving up only six so far through four games. It will be a game where Chris Godwin, Cade Otton and Rachaad White should be expected to contribute in the receiving game with their ability to get open close to the line of scrimmage. If the running game looks anything like it did last week, I think this Bucs’ offense could get hot.
Bucs 34 - Falcons 23
Jordan Irizarry (@IzzyPhantasmo)
Bucs take on the Falcons to start “the gauntlet” part of the schedule.
The offense starting fast is going to be key vs the Falcons and after last week, The Bucs showed that they are capable of doing that and more. I expect Baker to get the ball out of his hands quick to set the tempo and allow his playmakers Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and company to do the rest.
Defensively, Vita Vea’s presence was evident and having him back will make things a bit easier to move guys around and disguise what pressure is coming. Zyon and Jamel have been solid to start and I would expect one of them to get an INT off of Kirk Cousins.
Bucs go into Atlanta and leave with a sweet win and a strong division lead.
Bucs 28 - Falcons 14
Bucs @ Falcons Game Information
When: Thursday, October 3rd 2024
Where: Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta, GA)
Kickoff: 8:15 p.m. ET
TV: Amazon Prime Video (Nationally), FOX 13 (Locally) - Al Michaels (Play-by-Play), Kirk Herbstreit (Color), Kaylee Hartung (Sideline Reporter)
Bucs Radio: 98Rock – Gene Deckerhoff (Play by Play), Dave Moore (Color), T.J. Rives (Reporter)
Spanish Radio: 96.1 Caliente – Carlos Bohorquez (Play by Play), Martín Gramática (Analyst), Santiago Gramatica (Sideline Reporter)
Week five in the NFL is here in the blink of an eye and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers kick off the week on Thursday Night Football in Atlanta. With a chance to go 4-1 and give themselves a huge advantage to start this season, this team should be ready to go and look good as they did Sunday against the Eagles.
But former Buccaneers’ head coach Raheem Morris now has a new gig in Atlanta calling the shots for the Falcons as a division rival. It will be the first time he matches up against these Bucs but there is plenty of familiarity throughout this game, as these teams and coaches have a lot of experience with and against each other.
So what do the good folks at The 813 think with their insight on this short week? Here is a full dive into what we’re thinking this week:
JC Cornell (@CornellNFL)
Baker Mayfield continues his MVP campaign against the Falcons. Chris Godwin clips 100 yards receiving with Atlanta giving up the most yards to slot WR’s in the NFL. Rachaad White and Bucky Irving run wild while Liam Coen exposes the Falcons defense.
Bucs 28 - Falcons 17
Samer Ali (@TheSamerAli)
The Bucs offense starts fast again as Liam and Baker take advantage of the Cover-2 Falcons defense with Slot WR Extraordinaire Chris Godwin's knack for getting open in the 7-11 yard range, where the Falcons defense (and linebackers) has mostly struggled. I'd also expect the Bucs short passing and screen game to feature Rachaad White more than it has up to this point in the season. The Bucs will NOT pass the ball 47 times this week, and they should continue the positive momentum in the run game as Liam learns this offensive line's true strengths with more gap-scheme based runs (sweeps, counters, misdirection). The Bucs defense will have Vita Vea again so I expect them to get after a very immobile Kirk Cousins with and without the blitz, but more importantly keep the Atlanta running attack stuffed. Jordan Whitehead might play his best game ever as a Buccaneer this week, which says a lot, considering his impact thus far this season.
Bucs 28 - Falcons 16
Rock Riley (@realrockriley)
I thought the short week would take its toll on the Bucs but when I saw how they came out for practice Thursday. I believe they’ll get it done in Atlanta. The Bucs sure are beat up, but Todd Bowles has been doing a good job with his defensive game plan except for the Broncos game. He has Kirk Cousins’ number.
Vita Vea is on a mission.
Bucs 23 - Falcons 17
Stank Bastard (@StankBastard)
I fully expect Todd Bowles to compose another masterpiece and relentlessly pressure Kirk up the middle knocking him off his game while Baker and the boys expose Raheem and the Falcons Defense, for the frauds they are. The Bucs kiss Cousins with an L and move the Falcons out the way.
Bucs 31 - Falcons 12
James Yarcho (@JYarcho_BUCS)
Thursday games are rarely entertaining or crisp. This week, however, a divisional matchup for first place in the NFC South should have these teams a little more fired up and focused than a typical Thursday night game. Unfortunately for Tampa, they're short handed on the road.
This game has all the makings of a grind-it-out, slow, methodical slugfest. I expect heavy doses of Rachaad White, Bucky Irving, and Bijan Robinson for the vast majority of the night. It'll be close and likely come down to whoever has the ball last kicking a field goal. That'll be the Bucs as they move to 4-1 on the season
Bucs 23 - Falcons 20
Maura Carey (@mauracareyNFL)
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers kick off divisional play with a Thursday Night Football competition against the Atlanta Falcons. Coming off a dominant outing vs. the Philadelphia Eagles, the Bucs look to keep momentum rolling. While Tampa Bay had the gift of consistency from one year to another, the Falcons look different this year, starting with head coach Raheem Morris and quarterback Kirk Cousins. Baker Mayfield continues an impressive start to the season and a tight-knit Bucs’ team pulls ahead, maintaining the NFC South lead with a 21-16 win.
Bucs 21 - Falcons 16
Toby Valera (@sniffytobias)
Vea back in the lineup proved to be the missing link to our pass rushing struggles we had against Denver. That loss reminded this organization that nothing comes easy and I believe sets the tone for the rest of the season. At some point our run game will break out but in the meantime I like Baker and company to continue putting up numbers on the scoreboard. This is our 1st division matchup and Bowles will have the lads ready to go on Thursday.
Bucs 38 - Falcons 13
Jaret Rojas (@RojasTalksTampa)
First divisional game and it’s great for the Bucs that they see this Falcons team when they do in the season. Seeing Atlanta early in week five, as newly-acquired QB Kirk Cousins is still getting acquainted with this offense, is going to be an issue for the banged up Falcons’ o-line, as Todd Bowles is going to bring all sorts of blitz packages in effort to get to Cousins. Seeing them again in week eight, Tampa Bay has a good chance to get an early season head-start, when most went with the Falcons to win the NFC South.
The defense can set the tone with early sacks or early, consecutive three-and-outs. Pressure will be mandatory, but locking in on defending the short pass completions, as this Falcons offense hasn’t had many explosive plays.
But Atlanta is also one of the best teams at stopping explosive plays, giving up only six so far through four games. It will be a game where Chris Godwin, Cade Otton and Rachaad White should be expected to contribute in the receiving game with their ability to get open close to the line of scrimmage. If the running game looks anything like it did last week, I think this Bucs’ offense could get hot.
Bucs 34 - Falcons 23
Jordan Irizarry (@IzzyPhantasmo)
Bucs take on the Falcons to start “the gauntlet” part of the schedule.
The offense starting fast is going to be key vs the Falcons and after last week, The Bucs showed that they are capable of doing that and more. I expect Baker to get the ball out of his hands quick to set the tempo and allow his playmakers Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and company to do the rest.
Defensively, Vita Vea’s presence was evident and having him back will make things a bit easier to move guys around and disguise what pressure is coming. Zyon and Jamel have been solid to start and I would expect one of them to get an INT off of Kirk Cousins.
Bucs go into Atlanta and leave with a sweet win and a strong division lead.
Bucs 28 - Falcons 14
Bucs @ Falcons Game Information
When: Thursday, October 3rd 2024
Where: Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta, GA)
Kickoff: 8:15 p.m. ET
TV: Amazon Prime Video (Nationally), FOX 13 (Locally) - Al Michaels (Play-by-Play), Kirk Herbstreit (Color), Kaylee Hartung (Sideline Reporter)
Bucs Radio: 98Rock – Gene Deckerhoff (Play by Play), Dave Moore (Color), T.J. Rives (Reporter)
Spanish Radio: 96.1 Caliente – Carlos Bohorquez (Play by Play), Martín Gramática (Analyst), Santiago Gramatica (Sideline Reporter)
.png)
.png)
.png)
