Atlanta Falcons vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Tale of the tape

The defenses

Believe it or not, defense has been the biggest strength for the Falcons in recent weeks. Yes, the unit that was No. 32 in the NFL last year. This is mainly due to the poor play on offense, but the defense has been playing well enough to win games.

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Atlanta has been strong against the run, and is currently No. 10 in rush defense. They entered last week’s game with Minnesota at No. 1, but that was before Adrian Peterson ran wild in the second half. They don’t have to play Peterson again, and they will be focused on stopping Doug Martin this week.

Tampa Bay is good against the run too, and was able to hold Atlanta to 101 rushing yards in the previous meeting. Granted, the Falcons were playing from behind for much of the game and had to throw more often, but they still ran the ball 27 times, averaging just 3.1 yards per carry.

The battle between defenses will be bigger than many anticipated before the season, and it will be key to determining the winner of this game.