Falcons Look to Exploit Buccaneers' Winless Home Record
The Atlanta Falcons travel to face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a Week 8 NFC South matchup on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026, at 1 p.m. ET at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. Tampa Bay has not won at home this season, while Atlanta has posted a better record on the road than at home.
The Buccaneers sit at 2-5 and third in the division, their four home losses coming by a combined 21 points. The Falcons are 3-4 and second in the NFC South, with a 2-1 mark away from home. Tampa Bay enters off a 43-13 road win over Carolina in Week 7, a performance built on a defense that allows just 295 total yards per game, third-fewest in the NFL. Atlanta beat San Francisco 29-20 that same week and ranks among the league's top 10 scoring offenses at 24.4 points per game. crossfire bet
Quarterback Michael Penix Jr. has thrown only one interception in 144 attempts since taking over as Atlanta's starter in Week 3, adding nine touchdown passes across five starts while averaging 8 yards per attempt. He faces a Tampa Bay secondary tied for second in the NFL with eight interceptions and fourth with 40 passes defensed. Running back Bijan Robinson leads the league with 704 rushing yards but has not topped 90 yards in any of his past three games, a slump that could persist against a Buccaneers run defense allowing a league-low 77 yards per game. Robinson has compensated with 25 catches for 203 yards as a receiver.
On the other side, Baker Mayfield threw just 11 passes in his Week 7 return from a dislocated right thumb, leaving his workload this week as an open question. Atlanta's defense, which has 17 sacks on the season, has gotten to Mayfield 13 times over his past four games. Running back Bucky Irving has carried the Tampa Bay offense in his recent starts, rushing for 165 yards against Dallas and 106 yards with two touchdowns against Carolina - his only 100-yard performances of the year. He'll face an Atlanta run defense ranked fourth in the NFL at 89 yards allowed per game, setting up a direct test of strength on the ground as both teams look to stay in the NFC South race.
