A year after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers rallied to steal the NFC South crown from the Falcons, the longtime division rivals will open their seasons against one another on Sunday in Atlanta.
Tampa Bay tied a division record with its fourth consecutive NFC South title last season, overcoming a three-game deficit in November. Despite losing both games to the Falcons last year and four of five against Atlanta, the Buccaneers have had a stranglehold on the division since 2021.
Again the favorite to repeat as division champion, Tampa Bay returns its Pro Bowl tandem in Baker Mayfield and Mike Evans, while All-Rookie Team running back Bucky Irving will earn a Week 1 start for an offense that averaged 29.5 points per game last season — fourth in the NFL.
Entering his fourth season at the helm, head coach Todd Bowles is 27-24 with Tampa Bay. The Buccaneers were swept by Atlanta last year for the first time since 2018, but Bowles knows the beginning of the season marks a clean slate.
“We try to win at everything we do. That’s what competitiveness is,” Bowles said. “Last year doesn’t factor into this year, wins or losses. We’re not going to recap the season from last year, we’ve got a different team with different mindsets. It’s one ballgame, it’ll give us a leg up in the division. It’s not going to win us the Super Bowl, which is what we want to get to. It would be great to get off to a good start.”
There’s no sugarcoating that the Falcons are coming off one of their most disappointing seasons. Atlanta dropped six of its final eight games, finishing under .500 and missing the postseason for the seventh straight year.
The Falcons are also employing the most expensive backup quarterback in NFL history, as Kirk Cousins will make $27.5 million this year to serve as an understudy for 2024 first-round pick Michael Penix Jr., who filled in for three starts at the end of last season.
The good news in Atlanta is that Penix, 25, showed promise in his limited rookie campaign and has a full offseason as the starter under his belt.
“I feel ready. I’m ready to go,” Penix said. “It doesn’t matter who we open up with, we want to get a win each and every week. We’re going to put pride in taking care of the ball and going out there and scoring points. If you do those two things, you’re going to win football games.”
In Year 2 of this Raheem Morris era (Morris also served as an interim coach in 2020), the Falcons are desperate to make a return to the postseason and national relevance. There would be no better way to start the season than gaining an early lead on the veteran-laden Buccaneers in the NFC South standings.
“It’s an unbelievable test,” Morris said of Tampa Bay. “You talk about Baker, the knowledge he has, the amount of experience he has. Mike Evans, if you put him in a one-on-one situation, he can make anybody pay for it. … They’ve got really good football players, really good talent on offense and we better be prepared and ready to go.”
Tampa Bay will be without key offensive members in wide receiver Chris Godwin – who dislocated his ankle in Week 7 last year – and offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs, who is recovering from offseason knee surgery. Buccaneers defensive tackle Vita Vea (foot) didn’t practice Wednesday, along with safety Christian Izien (oblique) and newcomer Haason Reddick (personal).
For Atlanta, safety DeMarcco Hellams (hamstring) and offensive lineman Jack Nelson (calf) didn’t practice, while wide receiver Darnell Mooney (shoulder) and cornerback Clark Phillips III (rib) were limited.
