Buccaneers vs. Falcons: TV Info, Spread, Injury Updates, Game Time and More

The quick turnaround to play on Thursday Night Football is difficult on all teams but downright brutal for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Atlanta Falcons to start Week 3.

Normally, a divisional clash would cause for some excitement on a Thursday night. On paper, this one had the look of a marquee showdown before the season—Matt Ryan and the Falcons were healthy and ready to make a run, while Lovie Smith would mold the Buccaneers into a contender in the division through strong defense and a balanced offense.

Too bad there is not a flex option this early in the season.

Instead, both teams enter off knee-slappers from the week prior searching for answers with a divisional race very much up in the air.

Avoiding an Atrocity

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Look, Atlanta turned in arguably the league's worst performance last week in a road trip to Cincinnati.

As bad as that was, it may have been more of a testament to how good the Bengals are than the true state of the Falcons. After all, the team did manage an upset in Week 1 against New Orleans.

Sunday, the Atlanta defense surrendered 472 yards of total offense. Ryan threw three picks and was under constant pressure all day. The offense scored just once.

Yet it pales in comparison to the Buccaneers.

The notion that Smith would take a defense simmering with talent and elite players such as Lavonte David and Gerald McCoy and mold it into something special has been anything but the case. His defense has faced two backup quarterbacks at home to start the season, and the results are more pathetic than funny:

	Name	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	INT	SACKS	RTG
Week 1	Derek Anderson (CAR)	24/34	230	6.8	2	0	1-9	108.7
Week 2	Austin Davis (STL)	22/29	235	8.1	0	0	2-15	99.1

Imagine what Ryan, who at home roasted the New Orleans secondary for 448 yards and three scores in Week 1, can do against a unit that lets backups do their best surgeon impression on a regular basis.

To make matters even worse, the foundation is already beginning to crumble in Tampa Bay.

A report by Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com provides a laundry list of health issues:

"

Until we know more from the Buccaneers' training room, we have to consider the possibility of playing without the likes of McCoy, Johnson, Martin, starting middle linebacker Mason Foster, tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins and perhaps a few others. Defensive end Will Gholston and starting safeties Dashon Goldson and Mark Barron missed time during the game, as well, though there were no immediate reports from the sideline.

"

Remember, end Adrian Clayborn is already on injured reserve. As Smith notes, defensive end Michael Johnson, who joined on via free agency, is nursing an ankle injury. Mason Foster has a shoulder issue. McCoy, arguably the best in the league at what he does, has a broken hand.

"It's real frustrating. You always want to go into it with a full team, but it's not what's happening," said McCoy, who said he heard a pop in his hand as he worked his way through a double team, per Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times. "We can't really think about it too long. We have a game on Thursday."

A few days removed from a second consecutive loss and not much healthier, an NFC battle against a prolific offense is the last thing the Buccaneers need.

The Revolving Door

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Think it is too early to talk divisional implications?

Think again—this is the NFC South, a division that has not seen a back-to-back champion since its inception in 2002.

Carolina wound up in first place last year and is off to a 2-0 start—no thanks to Tampa Bay's inability to overcome a backup—but the race is very much just getting started.

For Tampa Bay, a chance to counteract a home divisional loss certainly exists if Smith and his staff can take some of the lessons put on by Cincinnati last week and apply them on a quick turnaround. Chief among them: run the football. Atlanta is giving up 154.4 rushing yards per game right now, one season removed from coming in No. 31 against the run.

A win Thursday would put Atlanta in the driver's seat of the division for the time being thanks to that Week 1 win over the Saints. But the offensive line has to up its play in order to give Ryan time, while the defense has to collectively push better against the rush.

Were this any other division, a win or loss Thursday could be corrected down the line. In the volatile NFC South, this might as well be Week 17.

When: Thursday, September 18, 8:25 p.m. ET

Where: Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia

Watch: CBS, NFL Network

Betting Info: (via Odds Shark)

• Over/Under: 45
• Spread: Atlanta (-4.5)

Team Injury Reports

Name	Position	Status
Doug Martin	RB	Questionable
Michael Johnson	DE	Questionable
Gerald McCoy	DT	Questionable
Austin Seferian-Jenkins	TE	Out
Mason Foster	LB	Doubtful

Name	Position	Status
Roddy White	WR	Questionable
Julio Jones	WR	Probable

Injury info will be updated once released, via ESPN.com.

Prediction

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Atlanta was bad last week, but one has to think that was a season low on the road against an elite team.

Tampa Bay is just plain bad all around.

Quarterback Josh McCown has been mostly ineffective, a spark from the ground game has helped little and the defense—what Smith is known for—has fallen flat on its face. That, more than anything, is what will hurt the hobbled Buccaneers against a pair of elite receivers and a great quarterback.

In a noisy, hostile environment with some of their best players watching on the sidelines, the Buccaneers will not be able to produce enough in all facets to keep up with an angry Falcons squad.

Prediction: Falcons 24, Buccaneers 13

Note: Stats courtesy of NFL.com. All advanced metrics via Pro Football Focus (subscription required).