The Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers are two teams headed in opposite directions. Tampa Bay is 7-6 headed into Week 15 and in a tight race with Carolina for the NFC South title. Meanwhile, the Falcons are floundering at 4-9 after Michael Penix Jr.'s season-ending injury. The Falcons do not have their first-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft either, which makes their long-term prospects look not so good.
This game has plenty of ingredients that could result in a blowout. Not only is Tampa a better overall team, but they have plenty to fight for ahead of the playoffs. By comparison, the Falcons are only playing for pride as they will not make the postseason. Their head coach is rumored to be on the hot seat too, which does not help from a motivation angle.
Plus, the Buccaneers are getting healthy at the right time. Head coach Todd Bowles announced on Monday that Mike Evans, Tristan Wirfs, and Jalen McMillan are all “in play” for Thursday's game against the Falcons. That could give Tampa's offense an extra jolt just in time for this important divisional matchup.
So which team will come out on top in this one? And which players are set up to play well on Thursday Night Football?
Below we will explore three bold predictions from Falcons vs. Buccaneers ahead of the Thursday night battle in Week 15.
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Baker Mayfield doubles up Kirk Cousins in passing yards, touchdowns
Mayfield has not played up to his standard throughout most of the 2025 season.
The veteran quarterback has revived his career in Tampa, throwing for over 4,000 passing yards and 28+ touchdowns over the past two seasons. But that is set to change this year.
Mayfield has only 2,722 passing yards with 20 touchdowns and six interceptions with four games left to play. I was also shocked to learn that Baker has only thrown for over 300 passing yards one time this season.
I think that could change in Week 15.
I'm predicting that Baker Mayfield will double up Kirk Cousins in most statistical categories. So if Cousins throws 200 passing yards, Baker needs 400. The same goes with passing touchdowns too.
Cousins only has one game over 200 passing yards this season, throwing for 234 yards and a touchdown against the Jets.
This prediction feels perfectly in the zone of possibility, while also being a little reckless. So it's perfect!
Bucky Irving scores two touchdowns against Falcons defense
Bucky is back and as good as ever.
The second-year running back has played well since returning from his lengthy injury absence. And he could be in for his best game of the season against the Falcons.
Atlanta's defense is designed to hold up against the pass. They've only allowed 191.5 passing yards per game this season thanks to their young pass rushers. I was surprised to learn that Atlanta is 3rd in the NFL with 43 sacks heading into Week 15.
But as is often the case, that means they aren't as good against the run.
The Falcons have allowed an average of 131 rushing yards per game in 2025, which puts them in the bottom 10 among NFL run defense units.
I can easily see the Buccaneers making a point of establishing the run early in the game. Beyond that, Bucky could benefit from plenty of garbage time carries if this game gets out of hand.
I am predicting that Irving scores two touchdowns against the Falcons. Those could be either rushing or receiving, and I would wager there is one of each.
A big day for Bucky should mean that Tampa's offense is operating at peak efficiency. If this happens, the Buccaneers will have a great chance to win…
Buccaneers win IF they can shut down Bijan Robinson
…especially if they can shut down Bijan Robinson.
The Falcons have a compromised offense at this point in the season. Kirk Cousins has not played well, but it is hard to blame him for struggling in a bad situation.
Cousins also does not have much help on offense. Drake London did not play in Week 14 and he is still on the injury report before Thursday Night Football.
But Bijan is still Bijan. And he is just about the only reliable weapon on Atlanta's entire offense.
That means the Buccaneers will be expecting him to have a huge workload. And their defense is designed to stop a player like Robinson.
Tampa has allowed an average of 100.6 rushing yards per game, which makes them one of the NFL's better units. It helps having a huge nose tackle like Vita Vea in the middle of your defense.
When looking at Atlanta's past few games, it is clear that they need Bijan to have a good game in order to win.
I'm predicting that Tampa can win this game if they keep Robinson below 125 rushing yards and do not allow more than one running play of 20+ yards.
