Sole possession of first place in the NFC South is on the line Sunday when the Atlanta Falcons visit the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Falcons are a small road favorite, even though they are coming off of an ugly loss to the Seattle Seahawks this past week.
Atlanta won the previous meeting between the two teams in overtime a couple of weeks ago. Winning again on Sunday would not only give the Falcons the top spot in the NFC South, but also the tiebreaker for the season.
The biggest issue for the Buccaneers — and perhaps the driving force behind their home underdog status — is the fact they are absolutely decimated by injuries at wide receiver after losing Evans and Godwin in Monday night’s loss to the Ravens.
With Evans and Godwin sidelined, there’s not another wide receiver on the roster who has more than eight catches this season. That is going to put a ton of pressure on quarterback Baker Mayfield to try to find plays on offense, and he is likely going to have to rely on tight end Cade Otton and running backs Rachaad White and Bucky Irving to make plays. They are now the leading pass-catchers on the team. Irving was questionable earlier in the week with a toe injury, but is expected to be active.
Tampa Bay could also have issues on defense when trying to stop the Falcons’ passing game. The Buccaneers are allowing 254 passing yards per game (fourth-most in the NFL) and were not only embarrassed by Jackson on Monday night but also had no answer for Cousins in Week 5 when he threw for four touchdowns and played his best game as a Falcon.
Atlanta is only 2-4 against the spread over the past three years as a road favorite. The Buccaneers are 3-5 against the spread during that same stretch as a home underdog. Something has to give here.
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Atlanta Falcons at Tampa Bay Buccaneers odds
How to watch Falcons vs. Buccaneers
- Venue: Raymond James Stadium — Tampa, Fla.
- Time: 1 p.m. ET
- TV: Fox
- Streaming: Fubo (try for free)
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(Photo of Baker Mayfield: Mike Ehrmann / Getty Images)