Tampa Bay Buccaneers bold predictions for Week 5 Thursday Night Football vs. Falcons
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are still the team to beat in the NFC South. Tampa Bay is 3-1 and sits atop the division ahead of a crucial divisional game against Atlanta.
If the Buccaneers can win this game, they will have a huge advantage in the division race moving forward. Most NFL fans expect the Buccaneers to run away with the NFC South and I am no different. This Week 5 matchup could be the springboard that sends Tampa too far ahead of Atlanta.
But the Falcons will not go down without a fight. The addition of Kirk Cousins at QB and Raheem Morris at head coach has made the Falcons into a much better football team. There are still a few things that the Falcons need to figure out, but they are leaps and bounds ahead of where they were in 2023. They have it in them to beat the Buccaneers, but they will need a flawless performance.
Can Tampa Bay hold off Atlanta?
Below are three bold Buccaneers predictions heading into Week 5’s Thursday Night Football matchup against the Falcons.
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Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield shreds the Falcons for over 300 yards passing
Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
Baker Mayfield has been a man on a mission in 2024. Mayfield resurrected his career with the Buccaneers in 2023 and is trying to one-up himself this season.
Through four games, Mayfield has thrown for 984 yards with eight touchdowns and only two interceptions. That is good for a passer rating of 106.9 on the season.
Mayfield may not always be the most prolific passer in the league, but when he gets hot it can be scary going against him. Baker through for 347 and two touchdowns in Week 4 against the Eagles. I believe that he could have a similar level of success on Thursday Night Football against the Falcons.
Opponents matter, and the Falcons are a team that I’m sure Baker is excited to go up against in front of a national audience. Atlanta’s secondary has solid safety play from Jessie Bates III and Justin Simmons, but the cornerback room is in rough shape. The Falcons are essentially working with A.J. Terrell and a bunch of guys. Those three named players are not enough to mount a defense against Tampa’s passing attack.
My prediction: Baker Mayfield continues his hot streak, shredding the Falcons for over 300 passing yards and multiple touchdowns. I wouldn’t be surprised if he had another rushing touchdown on top of that, making it three weeks in a row.
Tampa Bay holds Atlanta under 100 rushing yards
Dale Zanine-Imagn Images
For whatever reason, opposing offenses don’t want to run on the Buccaneers.
Tampa Bay has faced 105 rushing attempts through four weeks, which is below the league average of 108 attempts. However, they are giving up 5.0 rushing yards per attempt, which ranks 29th in the NFL. Meanwhile, the Buccaneers have faced 146 passing attempts, which is tied for the fourth most in the NFL through four games.
On paper, it doesn’t look like a bad idea to run all over the Buccaneers. However, NFL offensive coordinators clearly disagree and have opted to throw the ball in an effort to win against the Buccaneers.
Regardless of whether this is right or wrong, I believe this trend will hold true into Week 5.
My prediction: Tampa Bay will limit Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier to under 100 rushing yards combined. The Falcons may rip off one or two good runs, but they will attempt to lean on the passing game to get past the Buccaneers. I’m not sure that is their best strategy, but I believe it is what will happen.
Buccaneers win a one-score game against the Falcons
Tampa Bay is a better all-around team than Atlanta, and I believe that gives them an edge.
There is something to the Buccaneers being a proven commodity as well compared to the Falcons. Atlanta has a ton of exciting playmakers on the offensive side of the ball, but just having a bunch of names is not enough to win in the NFL. Tampa Bay has proven that they are the class of the NFC South right now and that won’t change until someone comes along and beats them badly.
I believe that will happen eventually, but I don’t see that happening on Thursday Night Football.
My prediction: the Falcons will hang with the Buccaneers for a good stretch of this game, but not for a full 60 minutes. Tampa Bay eventually pulls away and wins a close one-score game on Thursday night.
The post Tampa Bay Buccaneers bold predictions for Week 5 Thursday Night Football vs. Falcons appeared first on ClutchPoints.
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