In their previous meeting with Tampa Bay, the Falcons’ offensive line had a horrible outing in a 35-22 loss at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Nov. 24.
Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan was sacked six times and hit 13 times as the Bucs made it a one-dimensional game. The Bucs held the Falcons to 57 yards rushing and attacked the passer.
“No. 1, we have to play well up front,” Ryan said. “For us, the offensive line has had good continuity for the last couple of weeks. We have got some different guys playing than we did the first time, and it starts and ends there. We have to make sure we play well upfront.”
Rookie right guard Chris Lindstrom did not play in the previous meeting. Left guard Wes Schweitzer played, but will start for James Carpenter, who’s out with a concussion.
The Bucs’ defensive line is anchored by nose tackle Vita Vea (347 pounds), Ndamukong Suh and Jason Pierre-Paul. Linebackers Devin White and Shaquil Barrett exploit their one-on-one matchups. Barrett has 16.5 sacks, which is tied for a team single-season mark.
“When they’ve got those five big guys and then those two linebackers, that front seven is tough,” Falcons offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter said. “They have good players, and they are playing well within (defensive coordinator Todd) Bowles’ scheme.”
In a 23-20 loss to Houston on Saturday, the Bucs had five sacks and six quarterback hits on the elusive Deshaun Watson.
“They are putting a lot of pressure on the passer,” Koetter said. “JPP had three sacks last week (against Houston). So, it’s not just their rush defense (which is ranked No. 1 in the league). They are pretty good in almost every phase. Earlier in the year, they had some stats where they weren’t as good on first down and in the red zone, but they’ve really turned those numbers around since we played them the first time.”
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