We’ve got an exciting divisional bout this Thursday night when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-1) head to Atlanta for a matchup against the Falcons (2-2). The NFC South has been a rather mediocre place for football over the past few seasons, but Tampa Bay has emerged as a potential playoff contender while Atlanta continues their positive rebranding under Kirk Cousins and Raheem Morris.
Each club is coming off victories in week four after the Bucs destroyed the Philadelphia Eagles, 33-16, and Atlanta edged the Saints, 26-24. The Falcons will have home-field advantage for their first matchup of the season, and they open up as a 1.5-point favorite.
Still, don’t sleep on the Bucs after a superb showing against the Eagles which rinsed off the funk from a dud the week prior. Divisional games are always hard to predict!
Sunday, November 3 at 1:00 PM | Spread | Money | Total |
Dallas Cowboys | +3 (-112) | +148 | O 51.5 (-105) |
Atlanta Falcons | -3 (-120) | -165 | U 51.5 (-115) |
On paper, Atlanta has some of the most enticing weapons of any team in the league. Bijan Robinson, Drake London, Kyle Pitts, and an above-average Kirk Cousins should have this offense humming. That hasn’t been the case consistently yet this season as all of the above haven’t yet developed consistency.
That trend seems to be breaking as of late, though, as London has had a solid three game stretch and Robinson has largely been impressive even through some inconsistent play.
Pitts, on the other hand, is looking more and more like he may never assume the potential he has long flashed since coming out of Florida. But if the Falcons can fire on all cylinders this Thursday night, it could be quite an offensive spectacle.
Baker Mayfield has made football fun again in Tampa! Even if his statements about his approach vs. Tom Brady’s were taken a bit out of context, it’s hard to argue that the Bucs look rejuvenated in his tenure under center.
Mayfield looks like he deserves to be considered in the elite tier of quarterbacks so far this season as he has been able to spread the ball around to his offensive weapons. A lot of that production has been directed towards Chris Godwin, who has reemerged as a top receiver in the league so far this season.
If he and Mike Evans can threaten the Falcons secondary consistently, it could open the running game up and allow Mayfield to pick apart the defense in other ways.
It should be a fun one this Thursday in this NFC South clash! I like this to be a game in the high teens or low 20’s as well, so I’m leaning towards the under delivering on Thursday Night Football this week.
At the same time, I like the Buccaneers to continue their ascent towards the top of the NFC. I believe they’ve got the upper hand in head coach Todd Bowles and that will allow them to not just cover but win outright.
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Aaron White graduated from Northwestern University with a B.A. in Economics. His industry experience includes projects for the Chicago Cubs, The Sporting News, and QL Gaming Group. He covers the NFL and NBA for EatWatchBet.