NFL Thursday Night Football: Can Buccaneers break through versus Falcons?
Another divisional matchup is the featured game on this week's NFL Thursday Night Football. This time, it's the Atlanta Falcons hosting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in an NFC South encounter.
Tampa Bay finds itself without a win two weeks into the 2014 NFL season. After a pair of home losses, new Bucs head coach Lovie Smith hopes a change of scenery might do the trick. The Buccaneers , 21-20, but the past three seasons have seen the teams split their two division games. The last time Tampa Bay won in Atlanta was the final game of the 2012 NFL season.
The Buccaneers are led by quarterback , who has completed almost 68 percent of his passes. Running back was expected to contribute heavily from the backfield, but has been dealing with a knee injury and is questionable for Thursday night.
filled in admirably last Sunday for Martin, in a two-point loss to the Rams. Rookie wide receiver , Johnny Manziel's favorite target at Texas A&M, leads the Tampa Bay wideouts with nine catches so far.
With a 1-1 record, Atlanta is the , gaining an average of over 438 yards per game while scoring over 23 points per contest. Quarterback is in his seventh year, running the Falcons offense. He threw for almost 450 yards in a come-from-behind win at home over the Saints. However, last Sunday, he was intercepted three times and sacked twice in a loss at Cincinnati.
Despite the loss, Tampa head coach Lovie Smith knows Ryan is a proven commodity in the NFL.
"Matt is one of the top quarterbacks in the league, since he came into the league, pretty much," Smith told . "He's a great leader and when the game is on the line, you want a guy like him in charge. Personally, he's caused me a lot of long nights," the Bucs coach added.
Ryan has the weapons on offense to put points on the scoreboard. Running backs and , both Oregon State products, provide power and speed in the backfield. Meanwhile, and are two of the more prolific pass catchers in the NFL. But White has missed practice during this short week, due to injury, and is also questionable for the Buccaneers game.
Another Falcon receiver, , also doubles as a kick returner and can cause problems for the opposing team. Hester holds the NFL record for career punt return touchdowns, with 13. Look for the Buccaneers to play "keep away" from Hester on special teams.
The Falcons-Buccaneers game can be seen on both CBS and the NFL Network, beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern Thursday.
