The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Atlanta Falcons face off on Sunday in a NFC South battle of two red hot teams.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have won four games in a row and have entered the playoff picture in the NFC. Josh Freeman has completed 56.4 percent of his passes with 21 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Doug Martin has reached the 1,000 yard mark averaging 5.1 yards per carry with seven catches while catching 27 passes out of the backfield with another touchdown. Vincent Jackson has 42 catches and seven touchdowns, Mike Williams has 34 catches and five touchdowns, and Dallas Clark has 27 catches and three touchdowns including the game winner last week against Carolina. The Buccaneer defense allows 23 points per game, 81.8 rushing yards, and 312.6 passing yards with 15 interceptions and 17 sacks. Lavonte David has 90 tackles, Mason Foster has 68 tackles, and Mark Barron has 57 tackles. Tampa Bay has bought into Greg Schiano’s system and it is paying big dividends.

 The Atlanta Falcons have the best record in the NFC and with a win here they can all but put away the NFC South title. Matt Ryan has been solid completing 67.5 percent of his passes with 20 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Michael Turner is averaging 3.7 yards per carry with five touchdowns and Jacquizz Rodgers is averaging 3.6 yards per carry and he has 33 catches out of the backfield. Tony Gonzalez has 64 catches and six touchdowns, Roddy White has 62 catches and four touchdowns, and Julio Jones has 47 catches and five touchdowns. Defensively Atlanta is allowing 19.3 points per game, 130.5 rushing yards, and 216.3 passing yards with 11 interceptions and 24 sacks. Stephen Nicholas has 60 tackles, William Moore has 58 tackles, Sean Weatherspoon has 52 tackles, and John Abraham has nine sacks. Atlanta’s only loss this season was in a divisional road game.

Tampa Bay is 4-1 against the spread following a win, 5-2 against the spread against NFC Teams, and 3-7 against the spread in their last 10 home games against a team with a winning road record. Atlanta is 4-1 against the spread in their last five road games, 2-5 against the spread against a team with a winning record, and the road team has covered in five of the last seven meetings of these two.

This is a great one for the fans but might be tougher for the bettors as it should come down to the wire. The Falcons are the better team right now but the Bucs should be sky high as should the home crowd for a game that should have a playoff atmosphere. I see the Buccaneers pulling out the win.