The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have won just two games through the first seven weeks of the regular season, but with a win on Sunday, they could be in the driver’s seat of the NFC South Division.

Thanks to the Carolina Panthers’ 27-19 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Thursday night, the Buccaneers (2-5) have the opportunity to take control of the division when they face the rival Atlanta Falcons (3-4) at Raymond James Stadium on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.

The Falcons are coming off their biggest win of the season after defeating the previously unbeaten San Francisco 49ers 29-20 last week. 

Superstar running back Bijan Robinson was held to 63 yards, wide receiver Drake London had just 66 yards receiving and quarterback Michael Penix Jr. threw for less than 200 yards, but the Atlanta defense forced four turnovers to help get the upset victory.

Although Robinson was unable to rush for more than 70 yards for the second straight game, he did add five catches for 59 yards in the win and currently leads the NFL in rushing with 704 yards and is averaging 5.4 yards per attempt. Robinson has four rushing touchdowns and has 25 receptions for 203 yards and a touchdown on the season. 

Behind Robinson the Falcons are No. 6 in the NFL in rushing, averaging 139.9 rushing yards per game, but will have to contend with the Buccaneers’ No. 2-ranked defense against the run (77.3 rushing ypg).

Since missing the first two games of the season recovering from injury, Penix is 3-2 as the starter. He is completing 66.7 percent of his passes for 1,157 yards and has thrown nine touchdowns to just one interception. London caught his first touchdown of the season against the 49ers but is averaging 16.2 yards per catch.

The Buccaneers are looking to win back-to-back games for the first time since early last season and will have a chance to beat back-to-back division opponents for the first time since the end of the 2024 regular season.

Like the Falcons, the Buccaneers forced four turnovers in their last game and came away with a dominating 43-13 win against the Panthers. 

Quarterback Baker Mayfield made his return from a dislocated thumb on his throwing hand against Carolina but wasn’t asked to do much, completing just seven passes, one of which was a touchdown. Instead, it was the Tampa Bay rushing attack that did the damage. Running back Bucky Irving rushed for 106 yards and two touchdowns and the Buccaneers rushed for 258 yards as a team.

Tampa Bay is currently No. 3 in the league in rushing, averaging 146.4 ypg, but will be facing the No. 4 defense against the run as the Falcons allow 88.9 rushing ypg. 

The teams split their two games last season with the Buccaneers getting a 23-20 win in Week 1 and the Falcons winning the Week 15 matchup 29-28. Atlanta has won three of the last five games and Tampa Bay has lost two straight to the Falcons at home. Atlanta leads the all-time series 33-32.

The Buccaneers have yet to win a game at home (0-4) this season but are 2.5-point favorites. The point total for the game is 44.5.