The Atlanta Falcons are preparing for an interesting, hopeful season amid their long playoff drought.
Beating the defending NFC South champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 1 will go a long way in determining the fate of the 2025 season.
A big piece of that game will be the Falcons' ability to get pressure on Baker Mayfield. The retooled pass rush has to get their hands on the Bucs' quarterback to prevent him from getting the ball to their playmakers.
And with recent injury news, the scale has now tipped in favor of the Dirty Birds' pass rush—words we never thought we would be able to say.
Tristan Wirfs will miss Week 1 game vs. Falcons' young pass rush
Nothing would get Falcons fans more excited than seeing Jalon Walker and James Pearce Jr. knock Baker Mayfield around, and that could very well happen after Tristan Wirfs underwent knee surgery.
Buccaneers All-Pro LT Tristan Wirfs recently underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, as @jjones9 reported. Wirfs likely will open the regular season on the Physically Unable to Perform list and miss time to start the season. Wirfs had lingering soreness in his right…
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 9, 2025
You probably don't need me to tell you this, but this is massive.
Getting to Mayfield is much more difficult when you have one of the game's best tackles guarding one of the edges. Without him, the combo of Leonard Floyd, James Pearce Jr., Jalon Walker, Arnold Ebiketie, and Bralen Trice can go crazy.
The Bucs don't have great depth on the outside of their line. Luke Goedeke is their starting right tackle, and now they will rely on Charlie Heck or Silas Dzansi on the other side. They could also move Graham Barton outside.
All said, the Falcons have to like their matchup no matter who lines up at tackle in Week 1.
Last season, despite sweeping the Bucs, the Falcons only got Mayfield on the ground one time.
The odds of pulling off another sweep in 2025 with only one sack is basically zero.
Fortunately, between the big injury for Tampa and the upgrade in talent for Atlanta, it will be exponentially more difficult for Mayfield to stay on his feet for 60 minutes.