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It’s fair to say that neither the Falcons or the Buccaneers are going to be particularly well-rested when Thursday night rolls around. Tampa Bay is fresh off a rough overtime loss to the Oakland Raiders, while the Falcons won in the last minute of the game against the Green Bay Packers. As is often the case both with NFC South games and Thursday Night Football, this one could get ugly.
The question is whether the Falcons will win, and while that’s obviously impossible to determine with accuracy right now, it is possible to state what we all think: That the Bucs haven’t been as good as Atlanta since Week 1, and the only saving graces for them is that they A) already beat the Falcons once and presumably know how they managed it and B) are at home.
Me? I’ve got the Falcons winning this one 31-21, one of my more aggressive predictions of the year. The Buccaneers have come on a bit of late and already beat Atlanta once, but I’m just not a big believer in the team, which has intriguing talent but does not a strong top-to-bottom roster. They also have a kicker who has a nasty habit of missing key kicks, and Atlanta is probably not going to be stymied offensively the same way they were in Week 1.
What’s your prediction?