In the wake of Hurricane Michael comes a battle that has been steaming along for the past two decades.
The 2-2 Tampa Bay Buccaneers will head to Atlanta to face off against the 1-4 Falcons, in the hopes of winning in the Mercedez Benz Stadium for a second time during the Jameis Winston Era.
Currently, the franchise record history, between these two teams, has the Falcons over the Buccaneers 25-24, and during the Jameis Era, the Bucs are 3-3. However, the Falcons beat Tampa the last three times they’ve competed.
In 1977 it all began. It was the first time the Buccaneers faced off against the Atlanta Falcons. The Buccaneers had just moved from the AFC West Divison into the NFC Central Division allowing these two teams to face each other once every season. It wouldn’t be until 2002 that the Bucs and the Falcons would merge into a new Divison, the NFC South.
Back to the first game in 1977, the Buccaneers faced the Falcons in Tampa Stadium losing to their newest opponent, 17-0. The following season in 1978, the Buccaneers again face the Falcons at home, this time, beating them 14-9.
Fast forward to 2002, the year the NFC South Divison exploded onto the scene with a Super Bowl win. I don’t have to tell you who won the Super Bowl that year, and I shouldn’t have to. The Buccaneers swept Mike Vick and the “Dirty Birds” that year.
Full steam ahead to 2015, “The Jameis Winston Era,” the Buccaneers fueled by rookie sensation Jameis Winston, marched into Atlanta beating them 23-20 in overtime. The Falcons were swept by the Buccaneers that season as well.
But things haven’t gone as well for the Buccaneers against the Falcons, since the end of 2016, as the Buccaneers have been swept by the Falcons during a three-game losing streak, that Tampa hopes to end this Sunday.
