MNF Preview: Falcons and Bucs Toe in up in Tampa

Falcons Look to Keep NFC South Hopes Alive

The Atlanta Falcons and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will meet on Monday Night Football to end Week 15 in the NFL. Raymond James Stadium in Tampa will host these NFC South division rivals. Kick-off is set for 8:30 pm EST and ESPN will have the coverage.

Oddsmakers opened the Falcons as -4.5-point favorites versus the Buccaneers, while the game's total opened at 47.5. The Falcons are 7-point favorites now and the total is up to 49.

For the Falcons it is not complicated. If they  win out in their last three games  they will win the NFC South title. That journey starts tonight on national television against the slumping Tampa Bay Bucs. They then finish the season at the Saints and then at home against the Panthers.

Atlanta is one game behind the New Orleans Saints and the Carolina Panthers in the NFC South standings. They put themselves in position by winning four of its last five games. The Falcons are currently the 6th place team in the Playoff structure.

Tampa Looking to Spoil the Postseason for the Falcons

Tampa Bay lost its last outing, a 24-21 result against the Detroit Lions on December 10. The Buccaneers failed to cover in that game as a +0-point underdog, while the 45 combined points took the game UNDER the total.

Winston has returned for battered Bucs. They are expected to be without star defensive tackle Gerald McCoy after he suffered a biceps injury the Lions.

The Bucs have been one of the NFL's biggest disappointments this year. They failed to build upon last season's 9-7 record. Many thought they would vastly improve, especially with the acquisition of wide receiver DeSean Jackson.

Tampa Bay's defense has struggled finding a pass rush all season. They rank 32nd in the NFL with 17 sacks. Gerald McCoy leads the Bucs with five sacks.

The Bucs had five turnovers against the Lions last week. Three of them by Winston. He threw two interceptions and had one lost fumble. Winston has 53 turnovers in 42 NFL games. The Bucs are 1-10 in games in which Winston throws multiple interceptions.

Controversy surrounds the talented Winston. He has a bum shoulder, is being investigated for sexually assaulting an Uber driver, and now it comes out that his relationship with Coach Dirk Koetter is not very stable.

Winston blames to coach for not supporting him properly when he got injured. He got his Feelz damaged and is walking around Butt-hurt.

Falcons Coming off Extra Rest after Last Thursday's Win Over Saints

Atlanta won its last outing, a 20-17 result against the New Orleans Saints on December 07. The Falcons covered in that game as a -2.5-point favorite, while the 37 combined points took the game UNDER the total.

The Falcons are receiving some extra rest after defeating the Saints 20-17 last Thursday. They have already beaten Tampa in Atlanta on Nov. 26th. It was  34-20 victory. The Bucs were playing their third consecutive game without injured quarterback Jameis Winston.

The Falcons were explosive in the earlier meeting against the Bucs. Matt Ryan was 26 of 35 for 317 yards and receiver Julio Jones had 12 receptions for 253 yards and two touchdowns.

The season has been schizophrenic with a 3-0 start, followed by three consecutive losses, then a protracted battle back into contention for the division crown and the playoffs.

Atlanta's defense held the Saints to 306 yards, with only 50 rushing the last time the teams met.  They will pose a challenge for Tampa Bay's mistake-prone offense.

Recent Form

Name	Record	ATS	Offense	Defense	Diff	ATS Home	ATS Away	OU Record	OU Home	OU Away
Atlanta	8-5	6-7	24.09	20.91	3.18	4-3	2-4	5-8	2-5	3-3
Tampa Bay	4-9	3-9-1	20.27	23.82	-3.55	2-4	1-5-1	7-6	1-5	6-1

Power Stats

Yards Per Point

Name	Offense	Defense	Differential
ATL	15.51	15.39	0.12
TB	17.05	16.61	0.44

Yards Per Pass

Name	Offense	Defense	Differential
ATL	11.52	9.18	2.34
TB	11.42	11.73	-0.31

Yards Per Rush

Name	Offense	Defense	Differential
ATL	4.44	4.43	0.01
TB	3.46	4.05	-0.59

Team Records

Atlanta Falcons

Name	Record	Home	Away	ATS	ATS Home	ATS Away	Offense	Defense	Diff
Overall	8-5	4-3	4-2	6-7	4-3	2-4	22.62	20.08	2.54
vs Conf	7-2	4-1	3-1	6-3	4-1	2-2	25.33	19.44	5.89
vs Div	0-1	0-0	0-1	0-1	0-0	0-1	17.00	20.00	-3.00
Last 3	2-1	2-1	0-0	2-1	2-1	0-0	21.00	17.00	4.00

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Name	Record	Home	Away	ATS	ATS Home	ATS Away	Offense	Defense	Diff
Overall	4-9	3-3	1-6	3-9-1	2-4	1-5-1	20.31	24.00	-3.69
vs Conf	2-7	2-2	0-5	1-8	1-3	0-5	19.78	25.89	-6.11
vs Div	0-2	0-0	0-2	0-2	0-0	0-2	15.00	32.00	-17.00
Last 3	0-3	0-1	0-2	0-3	0-1	0-2	20.33	28.00	-7.67

Supergrid

Title	Stat	Rank	Stat	Rank
Away Team Overall Scoring vs Home Team Overall Defense	22.62	16	24.00	22
Away Team Road Passing vs Home Team Home Passing Defense	257.67	6	270.17	30
Away Team Road Rushing vs Home Team Home Rushing Defense	102.83	17	72.17	4
Home Team Overall Scoring vs Away Team Overall Defense	20.31	22	20.08	10
Home Team Home Passing vs Away Team Road Passing Defense	246.33	12	209.83	9
Home Team Home Rushing vs Away Team Road Rushing Defense	104.33	20	123.00	24

Head To Head Summary

Name	Record	ATS	OU	Score	Rush	YPR	PA	CP	PY	TY	TO +/-
Atlanta	5-5	5-5	6-4	29.90	99.00	4.01	37.10	70.62	297.50	396.50	1.50
Tampa Bay	5-5	5-5	6-4	24.20	113.70	4.12	36.40	63.46	238.40	352.10	1.50

Head To Head Detail

Date	Away	Home	Score	Line	Total	OU Result	ARY	APY	ATY	ATT	HRY	HPY	HTY	HTT	Away Team Attempts	Home Team Attempts	Away Team Completions	Home Team Completions
Nov 26, 2017	TB	ATL	20-34	94	279	373	0	148	368	516	1
Nov 3, 2016	ATL	TB	43-28	136	325	461	1	73	323	396	2
Sep 11, 2016	TB	ATL	31-24	90	281	371	1	52	322	374	0
Dec 6, 2015	ATL	TB	19-23	64	255	319	1	166	222	388	2
Nov 1, 2015	TB	ATL	23-20	117	173	290	0	101	395	496	4
Nov 9, 2014	ATL	TB	27-17	110	212	322	0	92	281	373	3
Sep 18, 2014	TB	ATL	14-56	64	153	217	5	144	344	488	4
Nov 17, 2013	ATL	TB	28-41	152	268	420	3	186	224	410	0
Oct 20, 2013	TB	ATL	23-31	111	226	337	1	18	273	291	1
Dec 30, 2012	TB	ATL	22-17	144	222	366	1	65	213	278	0

NFL Betting Trends

Atlanta Falcons
Atlanta is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games
Atlanta is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Atlanta's last 10 games
Atlanta is 10-5 ATS in its last 15 games on the road
Atlanta is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games on the road
Atlanta is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games on the road
Atlanta is 12-6 SU in its last 18 games when playing Tampa Bay
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Atlanta's last 9 games when playing Tampa Bay
Atlanta is 2-3-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Tampa Bay
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Atlanta's last 6 games when playing on the road against Tampa Bay

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tampa Bay is 2-9-1 ATS in its last 12 games
Tampa Bay is 2-8 SU in its last 10 games
Tampa Bay is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games at home
Tampa Bay is 7-3 SU in its last 10 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Tampa Bay's last 9 games at home
Tampa Bay is 6-12 SU in its last 18 games when playing Atlanta
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Tampa Bay's last 9 games when playing Atlanta
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Tampa Bay's last 6 games when playing at home against Atlanta

Team Last 5 Games

Atlanta Falcons

Date	Opponent	score	Result	line	ATS Result	offensive rush yards	offensive passing yards	offensive total yards	defensive rush yards	defensive passing yards	defensive total yards	turnovers	Location
Dec 7, 2017	NO	20-17	W	-2.5/51.5	W/U	132	211	343	50	256	306	2	H
Dec 3, 2017	MIN	9-14	L	-2/48.5	L/U	102	173	275	105	207	312	0	H
Nov 26, 2017	TB	34-20	W	-10/47	W/O	148	368	516	94	279	373	1	H
Nov 20, 2017	SEA	34-31	W	-0/46	W/O	89	190	279	136	224	360	-1	A
Nov 12, 2017	DAL	27-7	W	-3.5/49	W/U	132	204	336	107	126	233	-1	H

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Date	Opponent	score	Result	line	ATS Result	offensive rush yards	offensive passing yards	offensive total yards	defensive rush yards	defensive passing yards	defensive total yards	turnovers	Location
Dec 10, 2017	DET	21-24	L	0/47.5	L/U	133	267	400	53	381	434	2	H
Dec 3, 2017	GB	20-26	L	3/45.5	L/O	165	230	395	199	77	276	0	A
Nov 26, 2017	ATL	20-34	L	10/47	L/O	94	279	373	148	368	516	-1	A
Nov 19, 2017	MIA	30-20	W	-1/44	W/O	53	268	321	83	365	448	-5	A
Nov 12, 2017	NYJ	15-10	W	-1/44	W/U	90	181	271	56	219	275	-1	H

Next up:
Atlanta at New Orleans Sunday, December 24
Tampa Bay at Carolina Sunday, December 24

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