Back in September the Falcons were up three touchdowns on the Buccaneers after barely more than 12 minutes, led 35-0 at halftime and had a 49-0 advantage before sitting their starters.
The Falcons (2-6) expect more resistance from the Buccaneers (1-7) in the rematch Sunday at Tampa Bay.
“We know it’s not going to be the same game,” Falcons cornerback Desmond Trufant said. “They are going to come at us with (their) best shot. Any time you have a game like that with an opponent, they are going to come back with something to prove. We’ve just got to prepare and be ready.”
It turned out that 56-14 victory over the Buccaneers was the high point before the free fall for the Falcons. They’ve lost five straight games since then, with four of those defeats by double-digit margins and the 22-21 loss to the Lions coming after they led 21-0.
The week after getting embarrassed by the Falcons, the Buccaneers won 27-24 at the Steelers. But they’ve lost four straight games since then in large part because of an offense that managed to score more than two touchdowns in just one game during that stretch.
But Falcons coach Mike Smith said he expects Bucs coach Lovie Smith to have his team ready to play a division opponent.
“That game is really going to have no bearing on what’s going to happen in this ball game,” Smith said. “We’re two different football teams. They are playing with a lot of confidence right now. They’ve shown a lot of improvement in the last two weeks.”
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