The Atlanta Falcons are headed into an absolutely massive game this weekend in the division race on the road against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Coming off the biggest win of the year against the San Francisco 49ers, the stakes get even higher this week in the quest to try to win the NFC South.

While the Buccaneers are just a 2-5 football team, that only places them a game and a half out of first place and a game behind Atlanta, so the stakes are high here. Tampa Bay was also missing Baker Mayfield, and though he did not have to do much last week, his presence was a huge part of why they destroyed the Carolina Panthers.

Much will be made of the quarterback matchup, but looking at the numbers, there's a surprising advantage the Buccaneers may have over the Falcons that not a whole lot of folks would see coming, and it comes on the defensive side of the ball.

While Atlanta was the bell of the ball early in the season after Week 4 due to their run defense, it's actually been the Buccaneers who have been one of the best in football when it comes to limiting opposing ground attacks.

Tampa Bay is allowing an astonishing just 77.3 yards per game to opponents, good for second in all of football and only behind the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Falcons have been stingy themselves at just 88.9 yards per game, which is good for fourth place in the NFL, but the Bucs have been on another level in this area.

Both teams are going to have to try to limit the other when it comes to the ground attack,  but which one is actually able to do it could determine exactly who is able to win the game and establish themselves potentially as the team to beat in this muddy NFC South.

Mayfield and Michael Penix Jr. will be huge determining factors, but in a game like this, running the ball effectively will rule the day. Atlanta had better make sure they are the ones who can do it rather than Tampa Bay. A win here would be massive and get the Falcons right back to .500, but it would be equally big to push the Buccaneers to the brink at 2-6 and not give them the hope they need to come back and win this division.

Solving that run defense is the biggest step to making it happen.