TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS (1 p.m. Sunday )
Record: Buccaneers 1-7
Sunday's game: The Browns defeated the Bucs 22-17 despite wide receiver Mike Evans catching seven passes for 124 yards and two touchdowns. The Falcons had a bye after blowing a 21-0 halftime lead in a 22-21 loss to Detroit in London on Oct. 26.
The skinny: Tampa Bay coach Lovie Smith has the Bucs off to a 1-7 start in his first season with the franchise. The Bucs have had some wild mood swings this season.They were routed by the Falcons 56-14 on Sept. 18 and they then went out and beat the Pittsburgh Steelers. Since, they've dropped four straight games. Quarterback Josh McCown is set to return to the starting lineup. "I know that the quarterback position is really important," Smith said. "I just look at it as being able to get the best available guy in there and feel good about him being able to lead our team. That's where we are right now. Josh was our starter before he went down with an injury. He's healthy now. Mike (Glennon) did a great job when he was playing. We are just moving in that direction."
Series history: The series is tied 21-21. Tampa Bay won the last meeting in Tampa when they routed the Falcons 41-28 as Bobby Rainey rushed for 144 yards. The Falcons have not won a road game in an outdoor stadium since beating the Bucs in Tampa on Nov. 25, 2012.
State of the union: "We are 1-7," Bucs coach Lovie Smith said. "So, most teams that are 1-7, there are not a lot of parties being thrown or anything. At the same time, we just have to look at how we've been playing. We've lost a couple of games in overtime. We've been very competitive most of the time. Which is a good sign considering what happened the last time that we played the Falcons. So, morale is pretty good. When you get a chance to get back in your division and play someone for the second time, you're excited about that. There will be a lot of excitement and a lot of juice at practice. ..We definitely remember that (the Falcons scored 56 points on them). You don't forget games like that. It goes without saying. We remember what happened the first time around. We hope to be more competitive this time around."
Three things: 1) The Bucs will have defensive tackle Gerald McCoy for this game. He missed the first game with a broken hand. 2) The Bucs are set to start Josh McCown, who's been out with a thumb injury. Mike Glennon was starting in his place. 3) Will the Falcons be able to get quarterback Matt Ryan more time to pass. Ryan averaged 2.36 seconds to throw against Detroit, which ranked 25th in the league for Week 8. More time should equate to bigger plays, more yards and touchdowns.
