Top match in the NFC South: Who will win?

On the thirteenth day of the NFL, the Atlanta Falcons and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers meet the second-placed team against the first-placed team in the NFC South, in addition to a few other matches that we also report on. But who can decide this game in their favour? In Falcons vs. Buccs, our prediction suggests a win for Tom Brady’s team.

The fact that these two teams are now meeting for the second time this season is due to the fact that they play in the same conference. On the second day of play, 19 September this year, the team from Tampa in Florida managed a home win against the Falcons.

In principle, the game could well turn out exactly like the last meeting between the two teams. However, the Buccs are facing a depleted squad for this game not only due to illness or injuries. More on that, however, in the Buccaneers’ analysis. Meanwhile in Georgia, the Falcons from Atlanta have a nearly complete squad with only two absences.

Both teams won last week away from home against an opponent from the AFC South by exactly seven points. Here, however, the Buccs had a much tougher draw with the second-place Colts than the Falcons did with the last-place Jaguars.

Atlanta Falcons – Statistics & current form

The Atlanta Falcons play at their home ground, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, this week. The team has lost four of their five home games in Georgia so far, but in away games they seem to be much stronger than at home, with four wins to only two losses.

But at the moment, the signs are not exactly rosy for the Falcons to close the gap on the first-placed Buccaneers this week. They are struggling to defend passes this season and did not do so well in the first leg against the Buccaneers on Matchday 2.

Matt Ryan is under pressure

Also, the passing game under quarterback Matt Ryan is not exactly desirable right now. Last week against the Jaguars from Jacksonville he could only pass for less than 190 yards despite the win. Thus, in the Falcons vs. Buccaneers game, the betting odds on a low point total for the team from Atlanta are also interesting.

Matt Ryan has a total of 16 touchdowns this season, but he has also given the ball away to opponents eleven times. Although he threw for 300 yards in the first half against the Buccaneers, his two touchdowns were offset by three interceptions. In general, the Falcons scored 25 points in their last game against Tampa Bay, but it was not enough to win the game.

Ryan does not seem to be in top form lately. In the last three games he never managed to get more than 200 passing yards, but in the same period the ball was caught out of the air by the defenders five times. In the Falcons – Buccaneers game, our prediction is that Matt Ryan will continue to be pressured and thus not be able to decide the game for himself and his team.

Key Players:
QB: Matt Ryan
RB: Cordarrelle Patterson
TE: Kyle Pitts
WR: Russel Gage
LB: Foyesade Oluokun

Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Statistics & current form

In the game Atlanta Falcons vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the odds clearly favour the latter to win. Although the unbeaten Buccaneers have lost all three of their home games away from home and have only won half of their games on foreign soil, the Florida team’s away record should be positive after this week.

Brown causes another upset

The fact that wide receiver Antonio Brown is always up for negative headlines seems to be nothing new for savvy NFL fans. This time, it involved a violation related to the COVID19 protocol set by the league and players’ associations. After obtaining a fake vaccination card over the summer, Brown and safety Mike Edwards have now been suspended for three games.

Tom Brady could thus be missing an important kick-off station. Despite his frequent negative conspicuousness, Brown is considered an exceptional athlete. Buccs QB Brady has also had a mixed relationship with his other wide receivers so far. The quarterback has thrown at least one interception in each of the last four games. However, Brady seems to have fewer problems with passes to his long-time companion and tight end, Rob Gronkowski, but also to running back Leonard Fournette. The latter caught 21 of 23 balls thrown to him in the last three games.

Last week, the Buccs’ defence had its problems with the Indianapolis Colts’ running game, although this is normally one of their hobbies. However, they had to defend against one of the strongest running backs in the entire league, Jonathan Taylor. So in the Falcons vs. Buccaneers game, the odds are in favour of the Falcons’ RB getting few rushing yards.

Key Players:
QB: Tom Brady
RB: Leonard Fournette
WR: Chris Godwin
WR: Mike Evans
TE: Rob Gronkowski

Atlanta Falcons – Tampa Bay Buccaneers Head-to-head comparison / H2H record

The last time these two teams met, the Buccaneers scored nearly twice as many points as their opponents (25:48). The Falcons’ restrained pass defence performance apparently couldn’t recover too much from this shock.

The strong rush defence of the team from Florida also speaks for a victory on their part.

Atlanta Falcons – Tampa Bay Buccaneers Tip

Likely the biggest indication of a Buccaneers win is their current standings in the NFC South. The Buccs could build a healthy lead, which could secure them a spot in this year’s NFL playoffs.

For the Atlanta Falcons vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers game, our tip is that Leonard Fournette will score at least one touchdown in the game, as he is used in both the run and pass game and even much stronger opponents have not been able to control him.