The loser of this battle of 3-7 teams will own last place in the NFC South.
The Falcons are coming off two convincing wins over NFC South foes New Orleans (26-9) and Carolina (29-3), while Tampa Bay has lost five of its past six games after posting a stunning 55-40 win over the defending NFC champion Los Angeles Rams.
The Falcons and Bucs will meet at 1 p.m. Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
After losing six consecutive and flowing into the bye week, the Falcons rearranged some coaching responsibilities, and a series of players-led meetings over the bye week are being credited for the massive turnaround.
The Bucs’ offensive stats are dazzling, but they have hurt themselves with turnovers, including quarterback Jameis Winston’s NFL-leading 18 interceptions. He will be the X-factor in the game.
“It’s not all of the quarterback, but some of it is,” Bucs coach Bruce Arians said. “Guys around him have to do better. We are not creating enough turnovers defensively to offset it. That’s the biggest problem, but it is a collection of guys.”
The Falcons, who have a less than 1% chance of making the playoffs, want to stay on a roll.
“For sure, the fun is in the winning,” Falcons coach Dan Quinn said. “I didn’t say it quite right the other day, but with victory and defeat, you have to treat both imposters the same. It is easier said than done because when you win you can relax, but this is not that kind of group, and this is not that kind of team.”
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