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With Week 4 of the NFL season past us, it is time to look ahead to the Thursday Night Football matchup for Week 5. We have an enticing NFC South matchup between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Atlanta Falcons.
Without further ado, let’s dive into our Buccaneers @ Falcons NFL picks for this Thursday Night Football matchup in Atlanta.
The Buccaneers bounced back after a tough loss in Week 3 to beat a banged-up Philadelphia Eagles team in Week 4 33-16. The Bucs jumped out to a 24-point lead in the first half after dominating to begin the game.
The Bucs offense was clicking on all cylinders led by Baker Mayfield, who continued his strong season. Baker finished this one 30-47 for 347 yards and two touchdowns, linking up with Mike Evans and Tre Palmer. He also added a touchdown on the ground. After four games, Baker ranks 7th in the NFL in passing yards and tied for second in passing touchdowns.
Even the running game, which has been a bit pedestrian, got going. Rachaad White and Bucky Irving each had 10 carries for 49 yards each, with Bucky finding the end zone once. Todd Bowles emphasized that he wanted to find ways to get Bucky more involved, which he did. It will be interesting to see how this backfield keeps playing out.
The Atlanta Falcons had a thrilling 26-24 win over the New Orleans Saints. Atlanta kicker Younghoe Koo drilled a 58-yard field goal as time expired to get the Falcons back to a .500 record of 2-2.
It was a bit of a slow day for the Falcons offense, even though they got to 26 points. The Falcons had a touchdown on special teams after a muffed punt and a touchdown scored by the defense with a pick-six by Troy Anderson.
Kirk Cousins had a slow day at the office, going 21-35 with zero touchdowns and an interception. Overall, it was a weird game, as Tyler Allgeier saw eight rushes for 60 yards while Bijan Robinson had just seven carries for 28 yards. Bijan was involved in the passing game and caught four passes for 46 yards. You have to believe that it will be a point of emphasis to get Bijan Robinson more than 11 touches. We look for him to get more involved this week against the Bucs.
These two teams split the season series 1-1 last year, with the Bucs leading the all-time series 31-30. Due to the Falcons coaching staff being completely new, I do not believe those two matchups last season mean much.
One interesting note on the Bucs is that they have been tough to throw on in the red zone. The Bucs have allowed just one passing touchdown in four games, which is tied for the fewest in the NFL. With Kirk Cousins struggling at times to get comfortable in these games, throwing over one touchdown this season just once, it could be a long night for the veteran QB. With that said, our first Buccaneers @ Falcons NFL pick is on Kirk Cousins throwing for fewer than two touchdowns in this game.
With both defenses being solid this season and this game being a quick turnaround, we expect this game to be a low-scoring affair, and Cousins will struggle to find opportunities for passing TDs.
Dylan has had a love for sports since he was a kid. Four years ago, he decided to dive into the sports content-creating industry specializing in Fantasy Football, NFL and NBA. He has since had his work published on sites that include Fantasy Alarm, Fansided, and Fantasy Six Pack.