Falcons v. Buccaneers inactives: Vita Vea active; Clark Phillips a healthy scratch

Sunday’s game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Atlanta Falcons might not get a ton of national attention, but the interest in the NFC South is off the charts. There’s a logjam at the top of the NFC South, admittedly due to the modest wins across the division.

Heading into Sunday, the Buccaneers have a .5 game lead on Atlanta thanks, in part, to an early bye week. The Falcons sit at 3-3, with the Saints already losing this week and sitting at 3-4. The hapless Carolina Panthers round out the very bottom at 0-5. But a logjam is a logjam, with three teams fighting for the top spot to a playoff berth.

Should the Falcons win, the team moves to first. Should the Falcons lose, the Buccaneers move to an impressive 4-2 while Atlanta ties with the Saints at a disappointing 3-4. Some surprise inactives could tilt this game, and the NFC South.

For the Falcons, we knew injuries were limited... or actually non-existent. The Falcons had no one designated out or limited in Friday’s practice, meaning its inactives were players that couldn’t make the active roster.

• DL Eli Ankou
• DL Albert Huggins
• DL Joe Gaziano
• TE John FitzPatrick
• OL Jovaughn Gwyn
• CB Clark Phillips
• QB Logan Woodside

While not a surprise anymore, it looks like Clark Phillips, a widely touted draft pick, needs injuries to break into the active roster.

For the Buccaneers, we were perhaps (overly) hopeful that the questionable Vita Vea would miss the game with a foot injury. No good luck for the Falcons, as the Bucs are also dealing with only healthy scratches

• CB Derrek Pitts
• TE David Wells
• OL Brandon Walton
• DL Pat O’Connor
• OLB Markees Watts

Both teams looking healthy.