Atlanta Falcons (0-1) vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-0)
September 19, 2021 4:05 pm EDT
The Line: Tampa Bay Buccaneers -13 ; Over/Under: 52
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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers meet the Atlanta Falcons Sunday in Week 2 NFL action from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay. Atlanta is coming off a bad week one loss to the Eagles. As for the Buccaneers, they played the Cowboys in their first game, ultimately eking out a three-point victory. Check back all season long for free NFL picks at Sports Chat Place.
Atlanta managed a field goal in both the first and second quarters in week one, but couldn’t find the end zone otherwise. The Falcons were down 15-6 at the break and didn’t do anything on the scoreboard from there in a 32-6 loss to the Eagles.
In the week one defeat, Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan put up 164 yards on 21-of-35 passing. Cordarrelle Patterson was the top rusher on 54 yards from seven carries, and Calvin Ridley led the Atlanta receivers with five catches for 51 yards.
Over on the Bucs’ side, they fared better in their week one game versus the Cowboys last Thursday, but the game was still tense. Tampa Bay had a 21-16 lead at halftime and had to hang on for an eventual 31-29 victory thanks to a fourth-quarter field goal.
Tampa Bay quarterback Tom Brady posted 379 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions on 32-of-50 passing in the win. Leonard Fournette put up 32 yards on nine carries, and Antonio Brown had 121 yards and a score off five catches.
The Falcons are 14-3 ATS in their last 17 in Week 2 and 1-4 ATS in their last five versus the NFC. Atlanta is also 1-5 ATS in their last six games in September.
Meanwhile, the Bucs are 4-0 ATS in their last four after an ATS loss and 4-0 ATS in their last four in week two. Tampa is 5-2 ATS in their last seven overall as well.
PICK: I’m going to stick with Tampa Bay here, but probably staying away. There’s not much to like about the Falcons’ week one loss. Atlanta put up just 136 passing yards and 4.1 yards per play against Philly, giving up three sacks and notching 12 penalties.
As for Tampa, they gave up 451 yards of offense to the Cowboys in their first game along with 30 first downs and a 5.9-yard average. The Bucs will need to clean up penalties (11) and turnovers (four) as well. That said, this is probably a better spot for Tampa to find a cover.
