The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are in a position that seemed almost impossible only one week ago.

Heading into Week 7, the Bucs were 1-5 and looked like one of the NFL's worst teams. They were 2.5 games behind the first-place Carolina Panthers and coming off a devastating loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, in which the Bucs blew a 16-3 lead in the fourth quarter before falling 26-19 in overtime.

Left for dead, the Bucs played their best game of the season, dominating the Panthers in Charlotte 43-13 to climb back into the NFC South race. 

Carolina then lost on Thursday Night Football to the Green Bay Packers to drop to 3-4.

Now, Tampa is only one game behind the Panthers and Atlanta Falcons for first place.

The Bucs have officially risen from the dead and can re-establish themselves as the favorites to win the South by beating the Falcons when the two teams face off at Raymond James Stadium on Sunday.

Here are my five keys to a Buccaneers' victory over the Falcons:

1. Stay committed to the run: Atlanta has the NFL's fourth-best run defense, allowing only 88.9 yards per game. The Bucs can't get discouraged and abandon the run if they aren't having early success on the ground.

Running back Bucky Irving is becoming a star for Tampa's offense. Against Carolina, he ran for 106 yards and two touchdowns. It was the second multi-score game of his career. The other was Tampa's upset victory over the Dallas Cowboys in Week 5.

It's no coincidence that Irving was the star in each of the Bucs' victories. To beat Atlanta, Tampa must commit to feeding Irving and trust that the dynamic back will have success.

The Bucs must get both Kenny Gainwell and Sean Tucker involved as well. Gainwell added 88 rushing yards against the Panthers, while Tucker had 52 rushing yards and a touchdown.

2. Contain Bijan Robinson: Tampa's run defense is even better than Atlanta's. The Bucs give up only 77.3 rushing yards per game, the second-fewest in the league.

However, Tampa hasn't faced a running back nearly as good as Robinson this season. The fourth-year superstar leads the NFL with 704 rushing yards and also has 25 receptions for 203 yards. Robinson has scored five total touchdowns already this season.

If the Bucs want to beat the Falcons, they must keep Robinson contained. Their defense has stepped up all season and now must find a way to slow one of the NFL's best players.

3. For the love of God, stop Kyle Pitts: Pitts has been a nightmare for the Bucs throughout his entire career. In eight career games against Tampa, Pitts has 44 catches for 629 yards and six TDs. 

In Week 15 of last season, during Tampa's historic collapse, Pitts dominated the Bucs. He caught 11 passes for 166 yards and three touchdowns as the Falcons came back from 14 points down in the fourth quarter to beat Tampa 29-28. The loss was one of the worst moments of Tampa's 2-7 slide to end the season and crippled the team's chances at making the playoffs.

The Bucs can't allow Pitts to go wild on Sunday or they will suffer a similar fate.

4. Keep the pass rush going: After only recording a total of six sacks in their first five games, the Bucs have exploded for five in each of their last two contests. That must continue against the Falcons.

YaYa Diaby was fantastic against the Panthers and notched his first three sacks of the season. Diaby led the team in sacks last year and showed just how important he is to Tampa's defense. Vita Vea also got on the board with his first sack of the year last week.

The Bucs are finally giving David Walker more playing time. He leads the team with four sacks despite barely playing in Tampa's first few games. If Tampa can get to Michael Penix Jr., especially without having to blitz, the Bucs have an excellent chance to earn a crucial victory.

5. Win the turnover battle: As always, turnovers will be key for Tampa. Against the Panthers, the Bucs forced four turnovers and committed none. Against the Cowboys, they forced three and also committed none. 

In Tampa's five losses, the team is a minus-6 in turnover differential. Winning the turnover battle is a must for the Bucs.

Atlanta has a turnover differential of minus-3 for the season, and that is after forcing four and committing zero in its upset of the previously undefeated San Francisco 49ers last week. 

If the Bucs win the turnover battle on Sunday, they will likely win the game.