TAMPA, Fla. — The Atlanta Falcons head into Raymond James Stadium on Sunday riding a quarterback who has changed the look of their season, with a 1 p.m. kickoff against a Tampa Bay team still hunting its first home win.
Atlanta is 3-4 and coming off a 29-20 upset of a San Francisco team that had not lost all year. The defense took the ball away four times in that game, twice on the 49ers’ final two drives. Tampa Bay is 2-5 but rolled past Carolina on the road last week, its first win inside the NFC South.
Michael Penix Jr. is the reason the Falcons’ offense looks new. He missed the start of the season while recovering from a knee injury from last year, and in five starts since returning he has a 109.0 passer rating with nine touchdown passes and one interception. Atlanta has scored 31 points a game over that stretch and ranks 10th in the league in scoring.
He has plenty of help. Bijan Robinson has 907 scrimmage yards, tops in the NFL, Drake London has 616 receiving yards and averages 16.2 yards per catch, and tight end Kyle Pitts has found the end zone four times in the past three games. Pitts hurt the Buccaneers badly in Tampa last season with 11 catches, 166 yards and three scores.
The Falcons will be without running back Brian Robinson Jr., who has a hamstring injury and will miss a second straight game. He is the only player ruled out. Questionable tags went on Billy Bowman Jr. and Avieon Terrell in the secondary and on linebacker Divine Deablo, all three of whom sat out against San Francisco. Atlanta also moved running back Khalil Herbert and linebacker Brian Asamoah up from the practice squad.
Tampa Bay will try to lean on the run. The Buccaneers ran for 258 yards at Carolina and own the league’s third-ranked rushing attack.
The rivalry is about as even as it gets. Atlanta’s 29-28 comeback in Tampa late last season gave the Falcons a 33-32 lead in the all-time series. Tampa Bay offensive coordinator Zac Robinson held the same job in Atlanta in 2024 and 2025.
