Tampa Bay broke the deadlock last matchup
Following a matchup against the New Orleans Saints, which was deadlocked going into the season, the Atlanta Falcons gear up for a divisional matchup against another rival where the overall record could not be closer.
The Falcons and Buccaneers have met 61 total times in their franchise histories (two histories which, for the most part, have been pretty pathetic), and have split it almost exactly down the middle at 31-30, with that slight edge favoring the Bucs.
Atlanta finally stopped the bleeding a little bit with two victories in the 2023 calendar year, following five consecutive Tom Brady led victories to turn the tide in this rivalry. Atlanta had won six out of the previous seven head to head games before Brady’s arrival. This sequence of events led to a 30-30 split at the 60-game mark, which Tampa Bay broke in the last matchup.
These teams have met twice on Thursday Night Football, and both games were memorable wins by the Falcons. The first was an early season 2014 matchup at the Georgia Dome where Devin Hester broke Deion Sanders’ all time punt return touchdown record — this was en route to a 56-14 beatdown. To this day, that was the second-highest scoring output the Falcons have ever had in a single game (the first being 62 against New Orleans, in 1973).
The second game was in Tampa, in 2016, when the Bucs ran into the MVP Matt Ryan buzzsaw offense which carried the Birds to the Super Bowl. Kyle Shanahan called a unit which hung 43 on an overmatched Tampa defense, and saw Ryan put together a glistening 344 yards, 4 TDs, 0 INT stat line.
Last Meeting
There was everything to play for in Week 14 between the 6-6 Falcons and 5-7 Bucs. A victory for Atlanta would have been a huge step toward a division title, as it would have given them a two game lead and the head-to-head tiebreaker (essentially a three game lead) with just four weeks remaining in the season.
The teams exchanged field goals and then touchdowns, with Tampa taking the lead both times and Atlanta immediately answering on the ensuing drive. The difference between the teams at the half was a strip sack of Desmond Ridder which resulted in a Tampa safety, to take a 12-10 lead.
Atlanta overcame adversity even after the Bucs tacked a touchdown onto that advantage in the third quarter via a Rachaad White screen pass, which saw the score inflate to 19-10. Back to back drives which culminated in rushing touchdowns in the fourth quarter gave Atlanta its first lead at 25-22, a lead which the defense could not hang on to. A 13-play drive was capped off with a Baker Mayfield to Cade Otton touchdown pass which ended up being the game winner.
The Falcons were really hurt by Younghoe Koo’s worst game in an Atlanta uniform. Two missed field goals ended up being crucial, as the Falcons were left chasing a touchdown at the end of the game instead of being able to win with a field goal.
Ultimately, this was the game which started an unraveling for Atlanta. The Falcons went 1-4 down the stretch to conclude yet anther 7-10 season, and it cost head coach Arthur Smith his job. This was conversely the first in a stretch of four wins in the last five games for the Bucs to win them the division.