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A few weeks ago, one of the most thrilling games of the first half of the NFL season took place between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Atlanta Falcons. With just 1:52 remaining, an interception by Lavonte David back to the Falcons’ 28-yard line should have given the Bucs the victory, but Atlanta’s incredible last-minute drive that ended in a field goal and Tampa Bay’s mistakes that kept them from winning the game forced OT. QB Kirk Cousins threw for a career-high 509 yards in the extra session, and KhaDarel Hodge’s 45-yard touchdown gave the Falcons an unlikely 36-30 victory.
In order to prepare for the rematch and their redemption, the Buccaneers have had a few weeks to sit and think. The fact that both teams are 4-3 and that control of the NFC South is on the line as they try to pull away from the 2-5 New Orleans Saints and the 1-6 Carolina Panthers makes this game even more of an incentive.
Atlanta was humiliated a week ago when it fell 34-14 at home to the Seattle Seahawks, even though the Falcons’ victory appeared to be a huge spark in their season. And despite still having one of the NFL’s top offenses, the Bucs’ 41-31 loss to the Baltimore Ravens was expensive since they lost wide receivers Chris Godwin Due to injury, they are missing two essential pieces from their arsenal (season-ending ankle).
The most recent NFL odds see Atlanta as a small 2.5-point favorite over Tampa Bay. There is a 46-point over/under.
View NFL predictions from SportsLine’s sophisticated computer model for every game, including this one.
Although Atlanta’s victory over Tampa Bay in Week 5 was impressive, the Bucs have recently dominated this rivalry, winning six of the previous ten games in the series.