Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Atlanta Falcons: Can Tampa Bay Maintain Their Championship Momentum?
After a successful pre-season, going 2-1, the Buccaneers are ready to tackle the main event. Traveling to Atlanta, the Buccaneers have a chance at redemption over last year's losses to the Falcons on their home turf, as well as continuing their week one win streak that has lasted since 2020 under head coach Todd Bowles’s leadership.
Last season, the Falcons defeated the Buccaneers in both of their matchups. The last, from October 27th, 2024, ended with a Buccaneer loss by five points: 31-26. A little over two weeks prior, the Falcons once again reigned victorious, allowing Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins to set a career high of 509 yards and four touchdowns with a final score of 36-30.
Quarterback Matchup:
However, in the 2025 season, the Falcons can’t rely on Cousins to help carry them to victory for a third time. As of December 17th, the Falcons have named Michael Penix Jr. as the starting quarterback. Penix Jr. only played five games last year in his debut season, in which he completed 61 passes for 775 yards and scored four touchdowns. During pre-season, Penix Jr. went 9/16 for 104 passing yards.
In comparison, the Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield had an impressive 2024 season, completing 71.4% of his passes for 4,500 yards and 41 touchdowns. Mayfield also threw 16 interceptions, the most of the season. Mayfield was kept off the field, though, for the entirety of pre-season. Some may see this as a weakness, but it gave the QB time to study new players in action.
Strengths and Weaknesses:
Mayfield led the explosive offense of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers–ranked 5th overall–in 2024. However, through the rampage, star wide receiver Chris Godwin suffered an ankle injury in Week 7. Godwin underwent surgery and missed the remainder of the 2024 NFL season. He underwent a second surgery during the offseason but has since passed his physical and been removed from the Physically Unable to Perform list (PUP). This means Godwin could be activated and put in the field at any moment; however, this is incredibly unlikely. Buccaneers GM Jason Licht commented on the return of Godwin, confirming that he will be absent from the field for the first month of the season. Head coach Todd Bowles most likely would also want to keep Godwin out for longer and use these early weeks to break in rookie wide receiver Emeka Egbuka. With much to prove, the rookie will have strong motivation to keep up with legacy WR Mike Evans for a new dynamic duo.
While they have a potent offense, the Buccaneers’ Achilles heel is still their defensive unit, which is 22nd in overall ranking (worse than the 16th place ranking the Atlanta Falcons’ defense received). This defensive liability could prove costly against the Falcons’ offense, consisting of star running back Bijan Robinson and wide receiver Drake London.
The matchup leads for a tight and thrilling game to open up the 2025 NFL season as Buccaneer and Falcon fans alike ask: Can the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' offensive line overcome the failures of their defense for a fifth year's victory in a row? Or will the Atlanta Falcons' balanced strategy and team overpower the “Bowles Blitz” for a third win over Tampa Bay?