It’s GAME DAY at Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux – Come watch Bucs football all season long!

BUCCANEERS at FALCONS

WHEN: Sunday, January 8, 2023 | WHERE: Mercedes-Benz Stadium | KICKOFF: 1:00 p.m. ET | TV: FOX

PLAY-BY-PLAY: Adam Amin | ANALYST: Mark Schlereth | SIDELINE: Kristina Pink

RADIO: 98 ROCK 97.9 FM | PLAY-BY-PLAY: Gene Deckerhoff | ANALYST: Dave Moore | SIDELINE: T.J. Rives

Game day is approaching, and it’s time for the Pewter Report staff to make its weekly game predictions and offer up our game preview of this week’s matchup. Let us know what you think in the article comments section and add your prediction, too.

Scott Reynolds: Bucs Finish With A Winning Record

Bucs DL Logan Hall – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Tom Brady and most of the Bucs starters will play against the Falcons in Atlanta on Sunday. We don’t know how long the starters are going to play, but what we do know is that Tampa Bay is motivated to finish the year with a winning record after beating Carolina last week to improve to 8-8 on the season and win the NFC South. I’m not sure what the Falcons will have to play for other than pride. They snapped a four-game losing streak with a 20-19 win over the Cardinals last week. But Atlanta will either finish 6-11 with a loss or 7-10 with a win over Tampa Bay. The Falcons were 7-10 last year, so there’s been no improvement in the two years of the Arthur Smith regime.

As for the Bucs we should get to see some of Blaine Gabbert at quarterback and hopefully a lot of Kyle Trask. It would be great to see what Trask could do with starting-caliber players around him for a change. I wrote about how the Bucs were wasting this opportunity to take a good look at him by not starting him in Week 18. The Falcons sure are getting a good look at their rookie quarterback Desmond Ridder, who will be making his fourth NFL start on Sunday.

The Bucs are the more talented team and as long as they slow down rookie running back Tyler Allgeier, who has 900 yards rushing this year, they should cruise to a double-digit victory. Tampa Bay led Atlanta 21-10 before allowing two late touchdowns. I would expect Todd Bowles’ defense to get after Ridder and record a bunch of sacks. Marcus Mariota was sacked five times in the first game this season. I’d love to see rookie defensive tackle Logan Hall get to the QB again before the season ends.

REYNOLDS’ GAME PREDICTION: Bucs 26, Falcons 16
REYNOLDS’ SEASON RECORD: 7-9

Matt Matera: Bucs Win In A TEAM Effort….Cause Everyone Plays

It’s not the easiest game to predict for the Bucs considering how much or how little the starters will play. We know the stakes by now – Tampa Bay clinched the NFC South last week and can’t move up from the fourth seed, so all that the Bucs have to play for is a winning record. The Falcons are eliminated from contention  and might be going through a coaching change after the game.

Bucs WR Chris Godwin – Photo by: USA Today

I think all three quarterbacks are going to play on Sunday. Tom Brady gets the start and goes up until halftime while local hero Blaine Gabbert gets the third quarter and Kyle Trask closes it out in the fourth. The Bucs still have things to work on, according to Todd Bowles, so the offense tries to pick up where they left off last game by putting points on the board. Let’s remember, Chris Godwin is close to 100 catches and 1,000 receiving yards, so he’ll be playing and getting the ball. The Bucs always help their players out with incentives. We’ll see who gets to hit their quota. 

The Bucs have always had better depth on defense, so even though Carlton Davis, Logan Ryan and Carl Nassib are out, they have players that can be productive. Anthony Nelson and Joe Tryon-Shoyinka have had to play out of necessity, so it isn’t anything new to them. The Falcons are still finding out if Desmond Ridder is their quarterback of the future. The Bucs didn’t face him the first time around, so this is a chance to continue with all the turnovers they’ve gotten in recent weeks. If the Bucs build up on a lead, the Falcons won’t really be motivated to make a comeback. It’s a three-game winning streak for the Bucs heading into the postseason.

MATERA’S GAME PREDICTION: Bucs 31, Falcons 18
MATERA’S SEASON RECORD: 8-8

JC Allen: Bucs Offense Comes Alive Against Falcons

The Bucs have already wrapped up the division and are guaranteed at least one home playoff game. With that being said, there has been a lot of talk on whether or not the team should rest it’s starters in order to prevent injuries in what boils down to a meaningless game. The flip side of that however is a win against the Falcons on Sunday would see the Bucs finish with a winning record heading into the playoffs. And if they can duplicate the offensive output from last week, give them momentum heading into the Divisional Round.

Bucs FS Mike Edwards – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

The offense will be missing starting left tackle Donovan Smith who has been ruled out with and injury. Brandon Walton will start in his place but the rest of the offense is poised to play against the Falcons. After an offensive explosion that saw the team put up 30 points for just the second time this season, the team is hoping to end on the year on a high note and Atlantas porous defense gives them that shot. The Falcons defense is ranked 29th in the league letting up 370 yards per game, 237 of those yards through the air. Tom Brady and the league’s second best passing attack should be licking their chops at this match up.

The Bucs defense will be missing several starters with Vita Vea, Carlton Davis, Logan Ryan and Carl Nassib all ruled out. While Jamel Dean and Mike Edwards are questionable for Sunday’s tilt. Anthony Nelson and Joe Tryon-Shoyinka will go wire to wire for a fourth straight game, this time against rookie quarterback Desmond Ridder. The Falcons are one of the worst teams in the league when passing the ball but boast the second best rushing attack which will test the Bucs defense without stalwart Vita vea in the line up. It will be a good test for rookie Logan Hall who is poised to receive more playing time. Though this game is meaningless in the notion that it won’t affect the Bucs playoff position, a win is on the forefront of this team to finish with an above .500 record heading into the postseason.

ALLEN’S GAME PREDICTION: Bucs 33, Falcons 16
ALLEN’S SEASON RECORD: 6-10

Bailey Adams: Brady Stays Perfect Against Atlanta To Get Bucs To 9-8

Bucs QB Tom Brady – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

All right, hand up: I was the lone Pewter Reporter to predict a Bucs loss last week. I had a bad feeling about that one, but the team proved me wrong and now heads into Week 18 with the division wrapped up. I’m happy to be wrong. There’s been a lot of discourse about Todd Bowles having a chance to rest his starters ahead of the playoffs, but it sure sounds like the coaches and especially Tom Brady are firmly of the opinion that anyone who can play should play against the Falcons.

And because of that, I like the Bucs’ chances to earn a third consecutive win and finish 9-8. Although Tampa Bay is locked into the NFC’s No. 4 seed, I do think there’s some value in getting some things worked out in this game. Now, the counterargument might be “if they haven’t figured it out by now, the regular season finale surely isn’t going to make something magically happen.” But if Brady is playing against the Falcons, how can I pick against them? The man doesn’t lose to Atlanta. He’s 11-0 against that franchise. Not only that, but I’ve never been all that high on Desmond Ridder, and I think this Bucs defense has a good chance to continue its takeaway streak in this one.

The Falcons are likely to give the Bucs a fight, as nothing drastic can happen to their draft positioning in Week 18. It’s nearly impossible for them to drop out of the top 10 and while a win may cost them a couple of spots (depending on other results), I’m not sure there’s going to be any tanking happening here. Nonetheless, I like Tampa Bay to win its third straight game to close the regular season. In doing so, the Bucs would finish above .500, preserving Brady’s spotless track record throughout his career and keeping him undefeated against Atlanta.

ADAMS’ GAME PREDICTION: Bucs 23, Falcons 14
ADAMS’ SEASON RECORD: 9-7

Josh Queipo: Bucs Win in Predictably Close Fashion

Bucs DT Deadrin Senat – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Lost in the whole “who will play how many snaps” discourse that is currently floating around the Bucs is the fact that if this team loses in Week 18 to the Falcons, they will enter the playoffs with not only a negative point differential (currently 22nd in the league at -32), but a losing record. That does not bode well for a team that had Super Bowl aspirations following a Divisional round loss to the Rams last year.

I believe that has a bearing on the decision-making of head coach Todd Bowles and his staff. A win against the Falcons and the team can improve their point differential, which is a good proxy for talent level in the league, secure a winning record and send the Bucs into the playoffs on a three-game winning streak.

The Falcons have fully embraced their rebuild, having turned to rookie quarterback Desmond Ridder. For his part Ridder has looked every bit the rookie who has a lot of developing to do. The Bucs defense played the Falcons well for three and a half quarters when the two teams last met. I expect the defense to play similarly well for the entire game against Ridder and Co. The offense will have an effective first drive that ends in a short field goal, struggle until the end of the first half when their no huddle offense allows them to get a TD to put them up 16-3. The backups enter in the second half to help stave off a Falcons comeback and the Bucs win a closer than needed game.

QUEIPO’S GAME PREDICTION: Bucs 23, Falcons 19
QUEIPO’S SEASON RECORD: 11-5